I never finished my draft article about my love for dockless bike sharing in Asia. I found them very convenient for getting around in big cities. One of the prevalent platforms was OFO, or Little Yellow as it was called in Chinese. I actually signed up in Hong Kong using my US credit card and used it subsequently in the US. I did use it in China also, it was exactly the same app and process, which made it very convenient to use.
Unfortunately OFO ran short on cash last year, leading them to slash service. Understandably many people were frustrated and wanted to cancel, but OFO had no money to pay back their deposit and subscription fees. There are stories of people lining up outside their facility to demand their money. My deposit was 100 yuan, or ~$13 USD. The fee to use their bikes were ridiculously low (you can see why they ran out of cash), so I feel like I’ve gotten my deposit money’s worth.
I requested a refund anyway, about 3 months ago I think, not expecting to ever recoup it given OFO’s cash difficulty. To my surprise, I received the refund back on my card today. I’m sad to see it not working out for them. I still love the dockless bike sharing concept and wouldn’t hesitate to pay a more fair price.
Did anyone ever use OFO or another dockless bike share?
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