The Global Saga of Bike Sharing
Another week means another twist in the global spread of bike sharing. June and July saw another $600 and $700 million were raised by Mobike and ofo, respectively. The momentum seems to only still be building. The number of effected parties globally grows and grows while the battlefields of China’s Tier-1 cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen) provide the testing grounds for looks to be a staple of future urban commuting worldwide.
The latest in a series of popular disruptive innovations, bike sharing companies from China have had an impact economically, culturally and socially. Urban commuters sing the praises of ofo and Mobike as they are seen as the two industry leaders and seem to react quicker and on a larger scale to the ever-changing landscape in the world’s most populous country. But automobile drivers complain that the streets are being unnecessarily clogged with cyclists who don’t know how to share the road. Taxi drivers have lost business and shop owners have seen their storefronts barricaded in by discarded bikes.
But shops of the beaten path have seen an uptick in business as more people spread out their spending radius thanks to the availability of bike sharing. Late night shops have also reported more business from cyclists as many are choosing to bike home from the bar instead of hunting and taking a more expensive taxi.
On the supply side, Mobike’s Foxconn is doubling capacity for bike production. But both Mobike and ofo may be up against a greater foe than each other- the Chinese public itself.
Since the days of Shanzai (manufacturing common ‘knock offs’ with odd additions to the original product) the people of Shenzhen have been very clever at tweaking a good product to make it ever better- or, more accurately, to make the product better suit their own needs. Shared bikes are no different. In a highly enjoyable and ever changing game of cat and mouse the bike companies and the public are engaged in a tug of war.
Bike companies and the public are engaged in a tug of war.
Vandals first popped tires. The companies then made bikes with tubeless tires. Lock combinations designed to be given to paying riders were being recorded and shared online. Vandals scratched off QR codes effectively making the fully functioning bikes unable to be borrowed. The companies responded by putting the QR codes under a clear plastic cover. Vandals one upped them by covering the plastic with gum. As I search for bikes for my own commute on a daily basis I catch myself humming “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better.”
There have been numerous cases of construction workers putting their own locks on shared bikes at their work sites to ensure they have reliable transportation at the end of their shifts.
The government hasn’t been an idle spectator in of all this. The rapid adoption of shared bikes has dramatically shifted the existing balance of many communities. Parked bikes began to block metro station entrances, fill the hallways of offices and clog residential elevators. The government quickly jumped in to maintain order. Bike parking areas were painted near high traffic areas. Temp workers were hired to encourage use of these new parking areas until the public got the hang of it. Pressure has also been applied to the bike companies themselves to do their fair share in helping to keep good relations with the public at large.
Companies are hiring ‘bike hunters’ to track down bikes that people have taken home, buried, dismantled, or tried to sell. Although these cases of misused bikes grab many headlines, most companies report under 2% of their bikes are vandalized. They plan to flood the streets with new bikes bolster their maintenance teams as well.
The bike sharing market itself seems to be flooding as well. The number of companies entering the shared bike space is overwhelming. Take a look at one rider’s phone screen below.

Vandals, heavily funded young companies, a watchful government, a history of tweaking products for personal use, and the largest consumer market in the world all make for a very entertaining saga. With conflicting motives, these players will eventually find equilibrium and the sustainable strategy discovered in China will be copied worldwide.
Ofo, who already operates in Singapore, continues expansion into new markets. Their presence at the USA’s 2017 SXSW conference helped prepare them for their upcoming trials in America. They have raised over $1.2 billion in less than a year. This impressive funding record gives them many options on which market to enter next. The same can be said for Mobike. Raising $815 million in the same timeframe as ofo, they are the first Chinese giant to step into the western market with a months-long trial. Mobike’s much hyped move to the UK’s Manchester has led to articles such as this one from the Guardian.
It’s tough to surmise society isn’t ready for a sharing economy. But we can have faith that the Chinese testing grounds will find a satisfactory solution for the globe.
As an expat living in China I can relate with the people of Manchester who feel deep frustration when their bike sharing app leads them to an unrideable bike. Ofo has gone through a series of maintenance user interfaces this year alone. Now it’s much easier for the users to classify issues and therefore allow group maintenance to get the bikes back on the streets faster. Bikes are tagged with a service code detailing what needs to be fixed. Trucks come to pick up bikes with similar issues and are fixed all at once then returned to the grid. This process is possible because of the sheer volume of bikes in China. We struggled with similar levels of vandalism and selfish bike hoarding behavior that currently exists in Manchester. But it becomes a numbers game. Vandals are losing interest as the vanity wears off and as manufacturers overwhelm their efforts of destruction. Even regular users are fighting back by making minor repairs to bikes and moving hazardously parked bikes.
With the great experiment closing in on its first full year in China, other global cities will soon have their first taste.
