China’s bike-sharing schemes hit UK streets

2017-05-20
cgtn.com

Bike-sharing schemes in the UK city of Oxford are quite different from the business model in China, where people don’t have to worry about finding a docking station.

CGTN’s Zhang He reports that Oxford city council is very supportive of cycling as it help to reduce traffic and pollution. But it is expensive to invest in infrastructure and provide bikes for everyone, so less formal bike-sharing is not new to the locals.

Agne Milukaite has launched a peer-to-peer bike sharing scheme. This “Airbnb for Bikes” community enables people to borrow bikes from local cyclists, families and vendors, from as little as ‍one British pound per day.

Ofo is China’s largest bike-sharing operator and it has launched a trial in Cambridge, while several companies have been in contact with Oxford city council.

Each city will have a different business model and bike-sharing schemes will differ from city to city, but whether China’s model can flourish in the UK remains to be seen.