ofo, the world’s first dock less bicycle-sharing platform operated via a mobile app, and the largest bicycle-sharing company in the world, kicked off the year with some major inroads in India by signing MoUs with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC), followed by an ongoing series of pilot launches of bicycle sharing services in 7 cities i.e. Indore, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Pune, Coimbatore, and Chennai.



With urban mobility emerging as a major civic issue and more and more Indian cities aspiring for smarter cities, government bodies are striving to reduce environmental impact, improve public transport and the overall quality of life. ofo aims to support Indian cities in this mission by advancing the culture of bike sharing as a sustainable mode of local transportation with its hassle free dockless bicycling technology.

Furthering its aim of helping India move towards greener transportation, ofo has been launching several pilot projects. While this has involved ofo teaming up with selected gated communities and institutions in supporting their cycling infrastructure on a campus-scale for now, it plans to gradually scale up. The aim for ofo is to be one of the preferred modes of transportation within Indian cities for first and last mile commute, contributing to lower carbon emissions and better health for commuters and city dwellers alike.

Few days back, Ofo has also signed MoU with Pune city's municipal corporation to support the Pune Cycle Plan -- a comprehensive bicycle master plan for integrated city-wide cycle tracks across Pune.

Rajarshi Sahai, Director of Public Policy & Communications, ofo said: “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 various benefits associated with cycling. 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 further added, “Our bicycles are technology enabled and accessible via our app that supports more than 32 million daily rides. In India, we will be supported by the popular wallet Paytm to ensure seamless transactions for our users. Global quality standards ensure our bicycles are light, robust and a joy to ride.”

Kiran Vasireddy, COO - Paytm said, "Building a sustainable low emission last-mile transportation system & addressing congestion issues is a key need in our country. We are excited to partner with ofo Bikes to power seamless mobile payments for its bike sharing service in India. Paytm is committed to building the best payments infrastructure in India & we are happy to bring the latest payment innovations in the public transportation domain. This partnership will make it a lot more convenient for citizens to access ofo's short distance transportation solutions."

The ofo bike sharing program comes at the back of our vision to improve lives of the community and the environment, by reducing carbon emissions and traffic congestion in the long run. ofo believes that a growing culture of cycling will help in tackling pervasive motorization that has turned rush-hour roadways in fast-growing cities into virtual parking lots and a generator of smoke and pollution.

Till date, ofo has operations in over 250 cities across 20 countries alongside widespread usage by over 200 million global users with more than 6 billion efficient, convenient and green rides, growing by 32 million rides per day.

In July 2017, ofo has completed Series E funding of US$700 million, becoming the world’s biggest and most valued bike-sharing company.

Bicycle Sharing in India - Current Scenerio


Bike-sharing has become a new hotbed in India as the market is already occupied by three local players -- Ola with its Ola Pedals, Zoomcar and recently announced Yulu.

In October, Zoomcar has too launched its bicycle-rental service PEDL, while Ola just launched Ola Pedals on pilot basis. Meanwhile, InMobi co-founder Amit Gupta recently stepped down to launch its new venture which too is bicycle sharing startup Yulu.
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