Defining the Next Generation of Mobility
In 2014, ofo kick-started a global revolution that began in China and changed the way people and cities think about urban mobility by introducing dockless bikeshare to the masses. Fast forward to today where dockless bicycles, pedal assist e-bikes, and e-scooters are white-hot in the United States. Seemingly every day there is news of another city integrating dockless shared mobility into its transportation infrastructure, or a new startup entering the scene. Competition is a boon for riders as every company must innovate to provide the best products and experience at the lowest price. But in the long-term, ofo is the one best positioned for success.
Since launching here last August, the US has already become ofo’s fastest growing market and its third largest in the world. And we’re just getting started. When I took the wheel for ofo North America, my first priority was securing world-class talent and quickly creating best-in-class local operations. Coupled with our laser focus on effectively serving cities, ofo’s extensive supply chain relationships and an economy of scale in R&D is what separates us from the pack and makes our platform truly unique. We are now serving more than 30 US cities, with the aim to be in at least 100 by the end of this year. By collaborating closely with cities, we are building bikeshare programs in places that have never had one and unlocking latent demand for dockless shared mobility. This expansion has enabled us to surpass one million rides in the first three months of 2018 alone and sped us past the next million in an even shorter span.
We’re about to kick things into an even higher gear in the US — literally and figuratively — with the introduction of tens of thousands of e-scooters and e-bikes in the summer of 2018.
We believe in ubiquity and giving consumers as much choice as possible, while being thoughtful about how and where we deploy. While our traditional bike will remain the backbone of our dockless fleet, our pedal assist e-bikes and e-scooters serve different needs. Our traditional bikes are versatile and easy to ride; our e-scooters will be terrific for shorter, zipier trips around cities; and our e-bikes are ideal for longer trips and hilly terrains. The expanded ofo lineup will be the largest, best-built, and most reliable for consumers in the industry.
By providing a range of products we can flexibly meet the transportation needs of our customers anytime, anywhere, in a single app. Our US leadership team, which boasts deep transportation experience in cities across the country, understands how to deploy each mode to maximize its utility. Expect to see e-scooters in dense, flat downtowns in cities with mild weather such as Atlanta, Austin, San Francisco, and Santa Monica. Meanwhile, pedal assist bikes will serve cities like Seattle and can be deployed in high-demand hotspots on the outskirts of a city, like universities, to power trips downtown of up to five miles.
Our local operations teams will continue to rebalance the ofo fleet not only with riders in mind but also cities. When an operations team is firing on all cylinders — a standard we proudly hold ourselves to — more transportation options do not need to mean more problems. We work collaboratively with cities to tailor our efforts to each community, coordinate appropriate parking locations and ensure we respond to support requests quickly and with personalized attention.
With an increasing number of transportation modes and cities in which to serve them, ofo’s global scale is an unparalleled asset. ofo boasts hundreds of team members in hardware research and development, supply chain, and quality assurance.
Our relentless commitment to innovation has resulted in the evolutionary development of 12 new bike models in only three years.
ofo has similarly applied this rigor to crafting pedal assist e-bikes and e-scooters tailored to the US market. These models will integrate the latest technologies and use fewer, higher quality parts to keep our fleet on the streets longer. Critically, ofo also controls more than half of global bicycle manufacturing capacity and has exclusive deals with the largest manufacturers. That means we can bring more e-bikes and e-scooters to market faster and at a lower cost than our competitors.
Dockless technology is here to stay. We are confident that shared transportation on two wheels is the best hope to redesign American cities for people, not for cars, by providing economic opportunity, reducing congestion and improving air quality. Whether through bikes, e-scooters, e-bikes, or whatever innovative design our team comes up with next, ofo is excited to continue leading and defining the next generation of mobility.
