Meituan Dianping sees surge in bike-sharing, but don’t call it a comeback
- Users of Meituan Bike are recently taking longer rides, with the nationwide average distance at 1.5 kilometres per trip
Meituan Dianping, China’s leading e-commerce platform for services, has recorded an upturn in its bike-sharing business, as more commuters shift away from crowded modes of transport amid the coronavirus crisis.
“Because of the pandemic, many people prioritised sharing bikes over public transportation,” Meituan said in a statement. “We are seeing an increasing number of bikers choosing to ride bikes directly to their destination without transfer to other means of transportation.”
The total amount of bike-sharing rides nationwide during the first work week in March was up 86 per cent from the same period two weeks ago, and rose 94 per cent compared with the week-long Lunar New Year holiday period, according to a recent report by Meituan Bike. In Beijing, the daily average growth of rides was up 187 per cent, compared with the Lunar New Year week.
Users are also riding bikes for a longer period, the report said. The nationwide average for riding distance was 1.5 kilometres during that week in March, up 24.7 per cent from two weeks ago. User orders for trips of more than 3 kms were also double from the same period two months ago.
Hong Kong-listed Meituan declined to provide comparable data from the same period a year ago.
