New Generation of Bike-Sharing Systems in China: Lessons for European Cities

Rising mobility of societies and the urban sprawl cause the need to shape passengers’ behaviour accordingly. For urbanised areas, the biggest challenge is to overcome the problem of dominant private cars usage. Bike-sharing systems are considered to be a successful tool for the popularisation of alternative ways of travelling.Recently Chinese companies have developed new solutions to bike-sharing systems that proved to be successful in China and could be implemented in Europe. However, their implementation will be associated with challenges for municipal authorities and companies conducting the business. The aim of the paper is to identify major advantages and challenges resulting from the implementation of the Chinese solutions in Europe or expansion of bike-sharing companies to Europe.The scientific method used in the paper is the case study of the Chinese bike-sharing market with the special focus on market leaders Mobike and Ofo. Despite existing obstacles, it is possible to succeed in introducing the new generation of bike-sharing systems in Europe. As Chinese enterprises have already entered the European market, it is crucial to make policy makers aware of the obstructions.