The Chinese bicycle sharing startup, Ofo has reportedly partnered with Paytm to launch its services in India. Ofo is one of the leading global players in the bicycle sharing space. The company has successfully raised $1.2 billion till date, of which $700 million was invested by Alibaba alone. The company claims to have crossed the 6 billion rides benchmark on a global scale and is currently providing 32 million rides on a daily basis. Furthermore , since the mega funding round last year, the company’s global expansion plans have been moving in full gear. The company has tied up with Paytm to allow users to pay for the rides using the digital payment platform.
The development was first reported by The Economic Times in October last year. As per the report, users would be able to hire cycles for $1 per hour using the app. The company has launched its services in 7 metropolitan cities ,namely Bengaluru, Indore, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Pune and Chennai, on a pilot basis. In lieu of this, the startup had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pune Municipal Corporation last week. As a part of the agreement the company wants to create a bicycle network in the city. As per a Chinese news agency report, the company is planning on investing in importing bicycles in India.
“We are delighted to partner with the city of Pune. We wish to improve its quality of life in the city by providing healthier, quicker and greener alternative to motor vehicles,” said a statement released by the company regarding the MoU. The statement also said that this is aimed at solving the “last mile transportation” problems prevalent in urban areas in the country.
The startup is currently present in over 250 cities across 20 countries including China, Australia, Singapore, Japan, and UK among others. India is the next big global market for the Alibaba-backed company. Like Ola, Ofo’s target market consists of residential townships and educational institutions to enable residents and students use bicycles in order to complete their last mile of commute.
“Through these localised launches we look forward to providing people with a taste of an ‘easy-to-use’ bicycle sharing experience and educate them about the various benefits associated with cycling,” said Rajarshi Sahai, Director of Public Policy& Communications at Ofo, in a statement. “With overcrowded cities and unprecedented pollution levels , India is ripe for a cycling revolution and we wish to aid that by providing a healthier, quicker and greener alternative to motor vehicles,” he added.
The company will face competition from Indian startups like Ola and Zoomcar, who have also launched bicycle sharing services in the country. Last month, Ola lunched its bicycle sharing service called Ola Pedal exclusively in the IIT Kanpur campus and plans on expanding across the country. Furthermore, in October last year, Zoomcar launched its bicycle sharing service named PEDL in Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru.
(Picture courtesy: indiaeducationdiary.in)