Only four months ago, Ofo, the dockless bike sharing company founded in China, was granted permission to begin a one-year pilot program on DU’s campus. While the program has been widely accepted and used at DU, the question as to whether or not the company will remain on campus for years to come remains, and it grows increasingly doubtful as time goes on. Ofo as a whole has been withdrawing from most U.S. markets, including local markets like Aurora (a city that was also on a very similar one year program) and the longevity of the company’s presence will likely diminish.
Despite good reception from students and staff around DU, observed mostly from widespread use, Ofo as a whole has been losing market share within the U.S. as a whole, and the macro ramifications could affect the company’s presence on campus. Within the U.S., Ofo has reduced its staff size by 70 percent and will reportedly only continue operations in Seattle, San Diego, and New York. Ofo blames its retreat from U.S. markets on regulations within U.S. cities. Moreover, the company has already drawn out, or will draw out, of several other developed markets, including Germany, Australia, and Israel, in tandem with its operational cuts in both the U.K. and India.
Adding to the dilemma, Ofo is slowly but surely being edged out of the bike-sharing market by larger rival companies Motivate (a New York based bike sharing company), which who was recently acquired by Lyft, and Jump (a Washington D.C.- based bike sharing company), which who was recently acquired by Uber. The titans of the “share economy” are putting pressure on the China-based company as they acquire more and more mobility services within the U.S. and abroad. Additionally, the recent growth of the e-scooter market is causing increased competition for consumer attention among ride-sharing services (whether on four wheels or two).
But what does all of this doomsaying spell for DU? Fundamentally, if Ofo cannot survive in the U.S., or simply just survive, then it will not be able to maintain a presence on campus. In all likelihood, the one year pilot program will be the extent of Ofo’s presence in Denver; even then, the one year pilot could be abruptly stopped like it was in Aurora.
Should Ofo die out, the student body need not worry. There is a plethora of other dockless bike sharing services that DU would be able to leverage from, should we decide that it is a service we would want to continue. Aside from the occasionally misplaced bike on campus or broken part, the service has been successful.
Only time will be able to determine the longevity of Ofo, but the status quo does not bode well for the company’s future here in Denver.
