Wukong Bicycle
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Founder | Lei Houyi |
| Defunct | July 2017 |
Area served | Chongqing, China |
| Products | Bicycle rentals |
| Parent | Chongqing Zhanguo Technology |
Wukong Bicycle (Chinese: 悟空) was a bicycle-sharing company based in Chongqing, China. The company operated a fleet of 1,200 bicycles in Chongqing from January to July 2017, ceasing operations after 90 percent of their bicycles were reported missing.[1]
History
The company was founded by entrepreneur Lei Houyi in 2016, inspired by the success of other bicycle-sharing systems in Beijing and Shanghai.[2] Houyi named the system "Wukong" after the monkey king Sun Wukong in the classic novel Journey to the West.[3] The system debuted in January 2017, with 1,200 bicycles serving 16,000 users in Chongqing, charging 0.5 yuan per ride.[4] It launched shortly after Ofo, a larger service based in Beijing, arrived in the city.[5] The bicycles, manufactured in small factories locally, came without GPS equipment used by larger companies. The lack of GPS equipment led to the theft of 90 percent of Wukong's fleet; additionally, the hilly terrain in Chongqing dissuaded use of the bicycles.[5][6] Future models were planned come with GPS trackers, along with a national rollout to ten cities by June 2017.[4] On June 21, Wukong announced that it would cease operations within 30 days, retrieving its bicycles and refunding users.[3] Observers called it the first bankruptcy in the Chinese bicycle-sharing industry, which was amid a massive boom.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Chinese bike share firm goes bust after losing 90% of bikes". BBC News. June 21, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
- ^ Lu, Yuan (September 21, 2017). "Bike-Share Boss Says Failure Just Bump on Road". Sixth Tone. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
- ^ a b "Wheels come off bike-sharing firm". China Daily. Xinhua News Agency. June 24, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
- ^ a b Ng, Ellis (June 22, 2017). "People nicked 90% of the bikes belonging to a bike-sharing firm, so it had to close down". Mashable. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
- ^ a b Jing, Meng (June 22, 2017). "Here's how Wukong became the first bike-sharer to close in China". South China Morning Post. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
- ^ Yan, Alice (June 21, 2017). "Chinese bike-share firm closes after 90 per cent of cycles stolen". South China Morning Post. Retrieved October 28, 2017.