Shanghai’s Mobike Mania Invites Competition

I noticed at the end of 2016 that Mobike seemed to be really taking off in Shanghai. But when I came back from Florida in January, it was a whole ‘nother story… Not only were there more orange Mobike bikes on the streets than ever, but yellow (Didi-backed) competitor Ofo was suddenly seriously competing, and even baby blue 小鸣单车 was upping its game. I’ve been seeing so many rows of Mobikes on the sidewalks of Jing’an District that I’m guessing there now must be nightly redistribution efforts going on to properly seed the city center. Now that the Uber war is over, this seems to be the new battlefront.

A few shots I snapped last week:

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And one photo I downloaded on WeChat (not sure who to credit), which was labeled “#VCfunding“:

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John Pasden

John is a Shanghai-based linguist and entrepreneur, founder of AllSet Learning.

Comments

  1. A version just came to town, green bikes all over the place after lunar new year, but the app doesn’t accept a passport as ID. Does Mobike? The local clunky city version of the short-term bikes does accept passports. Any workarounds? Do you have a 身份证 as a married working person? Just curious. I’m still queuing at the station to pick up high-speed rail tickets purchased online… ; x

    • Update: Mobike has come to my town and passports are accepted as ID! I think Mobike will win the market because of their software. There is a point system that encourages good behavior, and discourages poor behavior like parking a bike where others can’t get to it.

      By the way, from what I hear, the reason bikes are getting trashed in other places is from the impact on taxis and other small vehicles that give people a ride, say for example from a subway stop to home.

      Anyway, while it lasts, it’s awesome. I just wish Mobike would bring their Gen II bike with an adjustable seat. Then again, thunder thighs are a free workout….

  2. […] recently commented on how the sudden rise of app-driven bike rental services in Shanghai is fairly staggering. From a […]

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