ofo kicks into gear in India with multiple pilots across 7 cities

Offers bike sharing in select locations to build the ground for a bicycle sharing culture in India

India, Bangalore, 15^th January 2018:  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.

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.

About ofo:

Founded in 2014, ofo is the world’s first and largest “station-free” bicycle-sharing platform operated via an online mobile application.

The development of ofo platform was inspired by the concept of sharing economy and facilitated by smartphone technology, aiming to tackle “the last mile” challenge in urban areas.

As of today, ofo is ramping up operations in over 250 cities across 20 countries. It generates 32 million transactions daily and has provided over 200 million global users with 6 billion efficient, convenient and green rides, which have reduced carbon emissions by over 3.24 million tons in total, the equivalent of saving more than 920 million liters of gasoline or reducing 1.55 million tons of PM2.5 emissions.

From April to June of 2017 alone, users worldwide accumulated a riding distance of over 1.2 billion kilometers, reducing 84 million liters of fuel consumption and 265,000 tons of carbon dioxide.

ofo’s bicycle-sharing system requires no fixed docking stations, providing significant flexibility for users to find and return bicycles.

As more people switch to ofo bicycles from cars for short-distance travel, they do only not get more exercise by riding, but also helps reduces traffic congestion, fuel consumption and thus air pollution.

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

ofo Brand Guide

The logo ‘ofo’ resembles a person riding a bicycle towards the west, where the two lower-case ‘o’ represent the front and rear end of the bicycle wheel while the ‘f’ denotes the user.

Do’s: Please spell our company name as ‘ofo’

Don’ts: Please do not spell ofo as ‘Ofo’

A Revolution: “Station-Free” Bike Sharing

Before the time of the invention of ofo, many metropolitan cities have deployed certain extent of bike-sharing schemes, hoping to mitigate the long-lasting challenges of heavy traffic and environment pollutions.

However, docking stations occupy pedestrian space and make it inconvenient for people to pick up and return bikes. It is also a lengthy process to get approval, funding and maintenance support from local governments and agencies.

ofo is the world’s first company to propose a “station-free” bike-sharing scheme facilitated by its mobile application.

This revolutionary model brings true flexibility and convenience to users and ensures that all users have access to ofo bikes anytime anywhere.

To learn more, please visit www.ofo.com

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