Didi is about to connect to ofo, and th∏e pattern of bike sharing battle may change

According to information obtained  internally from OFO, it is p&ossible that in April this year, OFO will connect® to the Didi Chuxing app, and users can directly use OFO's service‌s on Didi.

"This matter has been ‌frequently put on the agenda recently, and the internal news is that it may be≠ connected next month," said an internal em‍ployee of OFO. 36 Kr has confirmed this news with the official s₹ources of Didi and Ofo, but as of the time of pu↕blication, neither company has confirmed or denied it.

OFO founder Dai Wei stated in December last year that there was •no clear timetable for when to acce ss the Didi app. "The '♣ofo' mode does not have GPS, a₩nd users can use it as soon as they see the car. The entire logic is differen✘t from the Didi platform's taxi hailing logic, but πin the near future, we will jo intly launch some things with Didi."

However, similar access is not without precedent. In ∏February of this year, WeChat and Mobike announced that users can s♥can the QR code on the body of Mobike through WeChat to directly ent≤er the Mobike WeChat mini program, click to unlocεk and use the car.

This is not the first time that OFO will connect to Didi, nor i↔s it the first time that the two platforms have been deeplyδ bound. Previously, Didi participated in the latest three rounds of← financing for OFO. According to a report from Ten€cent Technology, a shared bike investor revealed that aft✘er multiple rounds of fina"ncing, Didi has become the largest shareholder of OFO, holding over 30% of ✘the shares. "This means that Didi has a stronger voice in OFO, and at the sam≥e time, whether OFO succeeds or fails, Didi will be the biggest interest re£lated party."

It is not difficult to understand th≤at after Didi connects OFO, it will serve as a hπuge user traffic entry point to gu∏ide it, while OFO further consolidates its business volume, enh¶ances its industry position and imagination space with ≈Didi's support.

Moreover, if OFO is truly integ rated, it also means that Didi and its under$lying capital are further filling their own gaps in₹ the field of transportation.

An insider revealed to 36Kr that Didi once wa←nted to make a shared bike, but for some r₹easons it was not possible and •could only be used as an investor for§ OFO. However, this does not mean that Didi will not further ente↑r this market.

Didi's investment in ofo is nothing more than targeting the opportunit×y in the "last three kilometers".

At present, the "last three •kilometers" field in China is still in a very earl×y stage, and there are no systemat✔ic service providers. In the first tier citie•s of Beijing, Shanghai, ±and Guangzhou, the complexity of transportation has led to increasingly fieφrce competition among major travel platforms for the "last threeα kilometers".

"Whether to take a taxi or ride a bike, which is 3 kilomete→rs from the starting point to the destinat∑ion, is a choice for users. It ma≈kes sense to choose either option," said an internal employee of ♣OFO. Didi's approach is to cover all different options.

At the end of December last year, OFO ‌and Didi launched a red envelope campaign, marking ®the first large-scale cooperation between OFO and Didi after being st©rategically invested. The red envelope strategy δadopted in the event is♦ also considered one o'f Didi's traditional marketing tools.

According to Didi, in 2017, the main focus will still be on the field of‍ transportation, hoping to connect everyone's trav✘el needs. This means that all mode≥s of transportation will be covered, and shared bicycles will also be one of÷ Didi's directions of focus.

36 Kr believes that another important reason f∏or Didi's further integration into s©hared bicycles is tha$t, compared to the "strict" regulat ions on internet private vehicles, the dev₹elopment of shared bicycles was →initially encouraged by pol♠icies and the constraints were quite rea$sonable. From a policy perspective and a ♦new business growth perspective, Didi Chuxing, which has been affected by the¶ new policies on ride hailing since last year, may further benefitδ from the trend of shared bicycles.

However, there are still questions about how to connect an OFO withδout navigation to Didi, and what impact will it bring to users a©fter connecting?

"As far as I know, Didi may outsource th​e technology and navigation to a &third-party company." The aforementioned OFO ♣internal employee said that after connecting to Didi, OFO may still not♠ have navigation, and users mainly use scan code unlocking and paymenβt functions on the page.¶

As for user experience, the internal employees meφntioned above stated that "the main functions of ofo were↓ originally relatively simple to operate, and I believe it can be seaml‍essly integrated into the Didi platform." He emphasized that "af€ter all, the future trend is ∑that the number of apps loaded on people's phones will be decreasing.".