China's bicycle sharing firm ofo gets over 1.1 million orders in India

By K J M Varma

BEIJING: Chinese bicycle-sharing company, ofo has received more than 1.1 million orders in India in the first quarter of 2018, the company said, adding that India needs more such environmentally-friendly public transport solutions.

ofo, China's top bicycle sharing firm, had entered the Indian market in November last. Its service is now available in seven Indian cities, including New Delhi, Indore, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Coimbatore and Chennai.

"India has a huge population, and with the worsening of urban problems, like environmental pollution and traffic congestion, India needs more environmentally-friendly public transport solutions," Dexter Sim, in charge of ofo's business in India, has been quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.


"There are 15 more Indian cities interested in the bicycle-sharing service," Sim said.

So far, ofo has operations in 19 foreign countries, and offers more than 1.20 lakh green rides in over 70 cities overseas.

China's bicycle sharing concept rekindled the country's cycle revolution of the past when millions of Chinese used to cycle to work before it achieved modernisation in the past three decades.

The bicycles are shared by people in most of the Chinese cities, reducing congestion on public transport.