Bike-Share Battle: Ofo Takes on Mobike and Didi Chuxing
Bike-sharing is a tech and transportation trend that is exploding around the world. With a fleet of over 10 million bikes worldwide, Ofo is positioning itself to be a leader in the space. Chris Taylor, Head of Ofo North America, joined us to share the companies strategy to take on the heavy competition.
Ofo is one of two $1 billion bike-sharing companies from China. Now, ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing plans to roll out its own platform. Taylor discussed how Ofo will respond to the move that puts its marketshare at risk.
Taylor was one of Uber's first employees. He says the drama-riddled company was prone to the scandals because of its rapid expansion. Taylor said there was a focus on growing as quickly as possible and it was missing the infrastructure needed at such a large company.
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.