PEKING UNIVERSITY a Global Shared Bicycle Program Born on Campus

PEKING UNIVERSITY A global shared bicycle program born on campus

Peking University A global shared bicycle program born on campus

Introduction Established in 1898, Peking University’s courage and conviction of “dare to be the best in the world” has always been the same. To promote this aim, in June 2015, 5 students from Peking University launched the shared bicycle program “ofo.” At this time, many people were unfamiliar with the concept of bicycle sharing and few people thought that the student run startup team would profoundly influence the way of travel and the life of users in China and even around the world with a new model and concept.

Today, ofo small yellow bicycle is the world's leading unsupported shared bicycle travel platform. Users only need to enter the license plate number or scan the code in the ofo official app, and use it whenever and wherever.

Objectives The vision of ofo grew out of conversations at Peking University. Dai Wei (the CEO of ofo company) explained that in his seven years at Peking University he and his classmates and teachers often talked about personal ideals, social status, national destiny and the responsibility of Chinese youth to support national development. Based on this, ofo aims to address the challenges of short-distance travel while promoting public and business interests.

Challenges & Successes In its initial stage, ofo focused on Peking University. The company chose to focus on the campus market to allow ofo to have a good growth environment, which provided customers with effective product supply, reasonable charges, and accurate grasp of campus consumer demand. Additionally motivating this choice was that college students are often more likely to accept new things and the defined campus boundaries and scope. Peking University was very supportive of the new innovation as the shared bicycles were consistent with the school's aim to expand public transportation on campus.

In its first three months operating at Peking University, ofo Ofo Yellow Bicycles at Peking University (Photo credit: had nearly 20,000 daily orders and more than 40,000 Peking University)

2 students in Peking University completed the identity certification. This success attracted great attention from capital markets.

In October 2015, ofo expanded to several other schools and by the end of 2016, it had launched in several cities in China (e.g. Beijing and Shanghai) and in March 2017, ofo successfully piloted a program in Singapore - breaking 100,000 users in less than 100 days. Building on these accomplishments, ofo launched operation in 20 countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Thailand, Netherlands, and France. By the end of 2017, the number of cities exceeded 50, and the total number of bicycles in the world had reached 10 million. Ofo was rated as one of China's "new four major inventions" by foreign youth and CCTV.

Shared bicycles have helped to solve the challenge of short car trips that create slow traffic and produce greenhouse gas emissions. The data shows that in 2016, Shanghai shared bicycles saved a total of 8,358 tons of gasoline, reduced 25,240 tons of CO2 emissions, and eliminated 64 tons of NOX emissions. Furthermore, according to the “Community Economic Social Impact Report of 2017”, in addition to environmental benefits shared bikes also have major financial benefits. The report states that in 2017 shared bikes: • Saved 1.41 million tons of gasoline, equivalent to 1% of the national gasoline production • Saved 12.4 billion yuan in energy conservation • Reduced CO2 emissions by 4.22 million tons • Reduced PM2.5 emissions by 3.22 million tons • Saved air pollution control costs by 1.6 billion yuan, equivalent to 10% of the central government's air pollution control costs.

The share bicycle system has also helped to evoked people's memories of bicycles. In the past, bicycles were one of most important means of transportation in China. However, with the rise of private cars, bicycles slowly were forgotten. The no-pile sharing mode pioneered by ofo has made it easy for people to bike again.

“Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.”

With the emergence of shared bicycles, this environmental protection concept has become more and more popular. Cycling ofo has helped ordinary people to practice and embrace the concept of a low-carbon lifestyle which helps to retain lucid waters and lush mountains.

Contact Wei Chen Research Assistant, Peking University [email protected]