UK cities already missing Ofo

Last week, we reported that Chinese bike sharing pioneer Ofo has decided to leave a number of British cities.

[Photo provided by Sino.uk/Rupert Reid]

Some of these had only had the familiar yellow bikes, as pictured above on the streets of London, for a matter of weeks before the decision was made.

We understand that there were a variety of decisions behind the controversial decision, including high levels of vandalism in some cities, and a willingness of Ofo to focus stretched resources on key markets.

With that in mind, commentators have pointed out that the UK hasn’t actually been too badly hit by the decision. Whilst there are cities such as Norwich and Sheffield have lost their services, Ofo remains in key urban centres – whereas the company has left several European countries altogether.

What’s more, Ofo’s main rival Mobike, remains a big player in the UK.

Nevertheless, Wired reports that there have been a number of complaints raised in the UK cities that are using their services.

These include a councillor in Norwich who told the publication:

“We’re obviously disappointed that Ofo has decided to pull out but we remain committed to our support for cycling.”