Image credit: ofo
Bike sharing can create a transport system that is diverse, flexible and affordable
Sustrans and ofo share a simple goal. We both want to give people in Britain the choice to get onto bikes for everyday journeys.
In this blog post, Fraser Seifert, Policy and Strategy manager at ofo UK shares his thoughts on cycling.
Compared to Sustrans, which has been working hard since 1977, we’re relative newcomers having only arrived in the UK this year. But what a year. We’re already operating in Cambridge, Norwich, Oxford and Hackney. Today we’re pleased to announce our expansion into Islington, the borough in which Sustrans has its London office.
The reception from the public wherever we take our bikes has been hugely positive. We’re increasing the size of our fleet, hiring new staff all the time and new customers download our app and try our bikes every day.
Many people have said it before, but cycling can be a silver bullet for so many of the problems faced by society today: pollution, congestion and the numerous illnesses caused by sedentary lifestyles that are putting the NHS under such great pressure. Bikes can not only transform the way we travel in towns and cities, but also transform those towns and cities themselves, and even its inhabitants.
Consider this: the total distance ridden by ofo customers in just three years since we first launched in China has avoided a staggering total of 2.16m tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to saving over 615m litres of petrol and 1.035m tonnes of PM2.5 emissions.
One hurdle that needs to be overcome in modern cities is that it’s not always convenient to own a bicycle, whether that’s because you don’t have storage space at home, you have to take a cramped train for part of your journey or because there are no secure parking spaces at your place of work. Docked Bike share schemes like Santander Cycles are part of the answer here, but they tend to only serve city centres which can be limiting if you want to go further afield. Dockless bike sharing can fill the gap.
We can solve the ‘last mile’ problem, not only getting people from their city centre offices to train stations, but also home from the station at the other end. Harnessing the power of technology, we offer a simple proposition – simply open our app, scan the code on a bike and go.
We can bring bike sharing to a wider, more diverse audience than ever before. In some cities we have seen an increase of 5% in bike trips in just a few months. If that trend continues, we are going to see a real step change in how UK cities move and function.
We’re even using pedal power to run our scheme, operating e-bikes and bike trailers to help our staff move around, relocate or repair bikes without creating congestion or pollution themselves. Many other schemes do all this with diesel vans.
Social responsibility is taken seriously too. We don’t parachute in with thousands of bikes overnight. Ours is a considered approach, working closely with local authorities and community groups in areas where we intend to launch prior to putting bikes on the street.
We build dedicated teams of marshals who can solve any local issues. We’re a disrupter, but we also want to be a good corporate citizen. That’s why we recruit locally, pay the Living Wage and use local bike shops to maintain our fleet.
Yet there are still issues to overcome. Surveys show time and time again that the biggest reason people give for not cycling is that they think the roads are too dangerous. Vast numbers of people really do want to cycle, but don’t feel able or safe to.
So, while we can help provide cheap and easy access to bikes, the work of groups like Sustrans with its National Cycle Network and Quietways in London are vitally important. Building bike infrastructure suitable for modern cities will reap huge benefits, and Sustrans is helping to make this a reality with partners across the UK.
Ofo is part of a growing number of organisations that are looking to tap into the fantastic potential of cycling. Although bike sharing in the UK is still in its nascent phase, in a few years we hope cycling will be the preferred choice for short journeys.
Dockless bike sharing can create a transport system that is diverse, flexible and affordable. In doing so, our urban environments can transform into thriving and vibrant hubs that are not only better connected, but more liveable.
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