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# Bicycle Sharing in China with Eva Xiao
- URL: https://www.analysepodcast.com/episode-170-bicycle-sharing-china-eva-xiao/
- Published: 2017-03-15T08:04:25.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-19T13:50:21.000Z
- Description: Eva Xiao discussed the bike sharing phenomenon in China from customer acquisition, business models & the investors behind the startups: Ofo and Mobike.
- Author: Leong Chung Wei Bernard
- Tags: Analyse Podcast

Eva Xiao from Tech in Asia joined us in a conversation about the exciting phenomenon of bicycle sharing startups happening now in China. Eva provided a comprehensive overview of the bike-sharing space and explained why it has suddenly heated up. We also discussed the major players Mobike & Ofo on their customer acquisition, business models and investors behind them. Last but not least, we discuss the impact of bike sharing startups towards regulation and whether the Baidu-Alibaba-Tencent (BAT) are influencing them in this space.

Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included):

- [Eva Xiao](http://www.evaxiao.com/?ref=analysepodcast.com), China Reporter in Tech In Asia ([@evawxiao](https://twitter.com/evawxiao?ref=analysepodcast.com)[ LinkedIn](https://cn.linkedin.com/in/eva-xiao-09880734?ref=analysepodcast.com), Wechat: evawxiao, [Tech in Asia](https://www.techinasia.com/profile/evaxiao?ref=analysepodcast.com))  
  - Re-introduction and we start off with the recording in International Women’s Day at 8 March 2017\. \[0:40\]
  - What have you been up to since we last spoke on?  
    - US trip (Baidu, China-watching investors in Silicon Valley) \[2:02\]
    - Chinese content startups (Pear Video, Bilibili) \[3:02\]
- Bicycle Sharing in China \[4:49\]  
  - Can you give a brief introduction to the phenomenon of bicycle sharing in China? \[4:49\]  
    - Dockless bike sharing – users find nearby bikes and can drop them off anywhere
    - Two models currently: (1) scanning QR codes to unlock a bikes – popularized by Mobike (2) users are sent a code, which is used to open a physical lock – Ofo’s method
    - How does the consumer actually access the service? \[6:30\]  
      - WeChat official account, smartphone app, WeChat mini program
      - Is the bike sharing a good used case for Wechat mini program? \[7:25\]
    - What is the business models behind the bicycle sharing? \[8:30\]  
      - Unclear (given that renting a bike costs less than a dollar per half hour), though many speculate that companies are making money by investing user deposits
      - Other costs: bike hardware, logistics (bikes are re-arranged and moved around – user behavior may not distribute bikes in the most optimal way), vandalism/theft \[9:56\]
  - Why has bicycle sharing in China suddenly exploded in China? \[13:09\]  
    - Last mile transport, following the end of the ride-hailing craze
    - Robust existing O2O infrastructure (QR codes, mobile payments)
    - Price gouging (renting bikes via Mobike and Ofo is now free on the weekends, for example)
    - Convenience and ubiquity of bikes
    - Typical boom-and-bust cycle in China’s tech industry
  - What are the major bike sharing startups that have shown up in the space and how are they different from each other? \[15:52\]  
    - Mobike
    - Ofo
    - Xiaoming Danche, Bluegogo, 100 Bike…
  - How does the bike sharing platforms acquire their users? Is it via Wechat? \[18:35\]  
    - WOM, WeChat, bike visibility, billboards
  - What is the coverage of the bicycle sharing startups in China? Have they engulfed China and started expanding elsewhere? \[20:36\]  
    - Both Mobike and Ofo are in Singapore
    - Bluegogo is in San Francisco (but facing resistance from the city government)
  - Who are the key investors to the bike sharing companies? Do you see any BAT influence entering into the bike sharing space? \[22:15\]  
    - Ofo: Didi Chuxing, Xiaomi, Matrix Partners China, DST & Yuri Milner
    - Mobike: Tencent, Sequoia Capital, Temasek, Foxconn
  - Does bicycle sharing have an impact to the ride sharing companies such as Didi? \[23:25\]  
    - More of a partnership
  - Where do you see bike sharing apps go in 2017? \[24:16\]

**References:**

- [Bike Sharing Done Right: A real Chinese innovation ](http://supchina.com/2017/03/03/bike-sharing-real-chinese-innovation/?ref=analysepodcast.com)by Simone McCarthy, SupChina
- [Shanghai officials draft rules to wrangle China’s bike sharing craze](https://www.techinasia.com/shanghai-city-govt-drafts-bike-sharing-regulations?ref=analysepodcast.com) by Eva Xiao.
- [Temasek jumps into China’s bike-rental startup war with investment in Mobike](https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/20/temasek-jumps-into-chinas-bike-rental-startup-war-with-investment-in-mobike/?ref=analysepodcast.com) by Jon Russell
- [China’s Ofo gets $450m to accelerate global bike-sharing service](https://www.techinasia.com/china-ofo-bike-sharing-unicorn-with-major-funding?ref=analysepodcast.com) by Steve Millard
- [China’s “Uber for bikes” startups are being taken for a ride by thieves, vandals, and cheapskates](https://qz.com/919739/chinese-bike-sharing-startups-like-ofo-and-mobike-are-being-taken-for-a-ride-by-thieves-vandals-and-cheapskates/?ref=analysepodcast.com) by Josh Horwitz and Echo Huang.

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The show is hosted by [Bernard Leong](http://www.bernardleong.com/?ref=analysepodcast.com) ([@bleongcw)](http://www.twitter.com/bleongcw?ref=analysepodcast.com) and are sponsored by [Ideal Workspace](http://www.idealworkspace.com/?ref=analysepodcast.com) ([Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/idealworkspace?ref=analysepodcast.com), [Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/idealworkspace) and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/3770397?ref=analysepodcast.com)) with their new [Altizen Desk](http://altizen.com/?ref=analysepodcast.com) on [Indiegogo](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/aspirus-world-s-first-smart-standing-workstation/x/1909131?ref=analysepodcast.com#/) ([Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/thealtizen?ref=analysepodcast.com), [Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/thealtizen), [Medium](https://medium.com/@thealtizen?ref=analysepodcast.com)). Also check out Ideal Workspace’s new standing desk, [Altizen](http://www.altizen.com/?ref=analysepodcast.com) and sign up for their mailing list. Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, “The Beginning” from Red Cliff Soundtrack. 

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