Bicycle rental service Jobike plans stronger comeback in 3 months

Jobike, once a popular bicycle rental service that capitulated under the Covid-19 pandemic shock, is gearing up to make a stronger return with improved management and better services.

The company is in the process of importing 200 new bicycles, which will provide services on two public university campuses within the next three months.

Company ambassadors are being appointed at campuses, who will assist the startup to finalise two suitable campuses from three choices - Jahangirnagar University (JU), Dhaka University (DU) and Chittagong University (CU).

Mehedi Reza, founder and chief executive officer of Jobike, told The Business Standard that they will resume their service with more bicycles than before to meet the needs of the students.

"Talks are going on with small and large investors. Hopefully, the investment will be confirmed within this month (July)," he added.  

Improved management

Using previous experience, technical and management aspects have been improved, said Mehedi Reza, CEO of the company.

Furthermore, the incoming bicycles have better quality with more powerful GPS trackers, Mehedi said. "The previous ones were second generation while the new ones are fourth generation."

"We will resume services only in two campuses initially so that we can provide bicycles as per demand, " he added. 

He also plans to extend services from morning to 10pm. 

Earlier, it was seen that bicycles were lying idle for 3-4 hours in many places,  which Mehedi identified as a problem. "Even if there was a demand at a certain place, there were no bicycles."

"This time, bicycles will be delivered to the demanding stations every hour. We encourage the use of designated parking. Bonus minutes will also be given for free," he added.

Jobike's rise and fall

Jobike's pilot programme started in June 2018 in the tourist town of Cox's Bazar. 

The following month, the service was launched at JU campus. With rising demand, the number of bicycles were increased from 25 to 100. 

In December of that year, Jobike came as a blessing for CU students who had been spending a handful to navigate their hilly campus.

Jobike offered a cheap commute within CU campus; one could rent the bike for just Tk3 for five minutes.

The startup's future looked bright as its service was expanded to Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Dhaka University, and Mirpur DOHS in 2019.

Like any startup, Jobike began to face several management and technical issues. 

The bicycles had solar GPS trackers. Registered users could avail services through Jobike's apps by prepaid recharge. By scanning the QR code on the back of the bicycle with apps on the phone, the lock had to be unlocked.

But often, the lock would not open due to technical glitches and apps did not work.

However, before the company could mitigate those problems, the pandemic stopped their operation.

It tried a few pivots to stay afloat during these trying times. 

The service was launched on a trial basis in Dhaka's Gulshan and Banani areas in 2020 when public transport was shut down during the pandemic. 

But eventually had to completely shut down in less than a year.

Mohammad Ali Asgar Chowdhury, professor at CU and the proctor during Jobike's heyday at CU campus told TBS that the service was immensely popular among students, especially females. 

"Keeping in mind the convenience of the students, we allowed Jobike to use university land for free. But there was a problem with their management. 

"Bicycles were not collected from different points on time," he recalled.

If they manage this well, Jobike will definitely get a good response again, he added. 

Idea of Jobike

Mehedi Raza, along with two Brazilians, Pablo Aguayo and William, developed the app in 2017 when they were colleagues in Alibaba in China. 

After leaving their jobs, they introduced Jobike in Bangladesh in 2018. Two Bangladeshis, Azhar Khan and Helaluzzaman Ayon, joined their venture. 

Three Bangladeshi entrepreneurs named Tanveer Ali, Fahim Saleh and Shamim Ahsan invested in the startup.

The service started with a total of 365 bicycles imported from China. With a three-year longevity, all those bicycles are now unusable.

A total of 12 lakh rides have been taken through Jobike in almost two and a half years since its launch.

The registered subscribers were about 1.5 lakh. Over 3,000 rides used to take place on Jobike every day. 

Mehedi Reza said, "We have been able to make investors understand that investment here is not just for profit, it is also for social responsibility."

About 8,75,000 pounds of oxygen have been saved through the Jobike service, the Mehedi claimed.

This is equivalent to roughly 45,370 gallons of gas that was not burned in car engines, the absorption capacity of an additional 74,537 trees, or taking 100 passenger vehicles off the road for a year, he added.