Chinese bike-sharing companies falter in the UK

After a rapid expansion that saw 9,000 bicycles deployed across the United Kingdom in less than a year, vandalism and low rates of usage have caused Chinese bike-sharing companies to grind to a halt in several British cities.

Beijing-based dockless bike-sharing operator Mobike is considering pulling out of Manchester, while the company's major Chinese rival, ofo, has cancelled its service in Norwich, Sheffield, and Leeds.

Mobike has revealed that it lost 10 percent of its 1,000-strong fleet in Manchester to theft or damage in July alone.

"As a private business, we are only viable if our revenues cover our costs, and that is not possible with the current levels of bike loss in Manchester," said Jan Van der Ven, general manager of Mobike in the UK.

Mobike claims the majority of people using the bikes in Manchester are doing so responsibly but said "a small antisocial minority" is undermining the scheme's success.

In April, Mobike's former UK general manager Steve Pyer, told China Daily that levels of vandalism had fallen significantly since the company's launch in Manchester. Mobike's head of UK communications, Steve Milton, said the recent uptick in vandalism could be due to a range of issues.

"We believe it is a number of factors, from some mistakes that we have made in the deployment of bikes, to localized petty crime in certain areas of the city," Milton said.

Mobike has met with Manchester City Council, Greater Manchester Police, and the city's transport authority, Transport for Greater Manchester, to discuss what action can be taken to improve the situation.

"Any kind of bike theft and vandalism is a crime and we will act on reports that are made to us," said Wasim Chaudhry, chief superintendent of the Greater Manchester Police. "We will investigate reports of suspected theft and vandalism, just like we would if someone made a report about their own bike."

In March, Mobike suspended its service in the Northern town of Stockport after a significant portion of its 200-bike fleet was vandalized in the first 10 days of operation.

Mobike operates around 4,500 bikes in Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford, and London.

Until recently, the company's main Chinese competitor, ofo, had a similar number of bikes deployed in London, Norwich, Sheffield, and Oxford and planned to launch in Leeds later this year.

However, last month, ofo cancelled the Leeds launch and announced plans to pull out of Sheffield and Norwich. It said that, while the Norwich scheme began strongly, usage was not high enough to keep the company in the city. Ofo will instead focus on growing its London user-base.

"Unfortunately, we've taken the difficult decision to withdraw from the city and focus on other key markets," said Joseph Seal-Driver, general manager of ofo in the UK.

Ofo has announced it will pull out of several countries entirely, including Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, India, and Israel as the company ramps down its aggressive expansion and focuses on its most promising markets.