ofo Bicycle Sharing

Want to commute and leave your car behind? Just want to take a Sunday spin through the neighborhood? Well, bicycle sharing just got a whole lot cooler!

No matter why you want a bike, all you need to do is pull out your smartphone and use the ofo app to find a nearby bicycle (or just spot a bright, yellow ofo bike first and then claim it as your next ride).

Scan the QR code on the bike’s license to unlock it and you're ready to go. Once you complete your ride (to anywhere you like!), park the bicycle in a legal location, lock it, and tap “Trip complete” in the app. That’s it! You’ll get billed $1 per hour.

Recently, ofo dropped dozens of bikes throughout South Miami as they expand into the United States from their native China. I haven’t seen many people using them yet, but they seem to be in all the spots you’d want to use a bike.

The company was started by Peking University students in 2014 when they saw an opportunity to leverage smart technology to improve cycling as a sustainable mode of transportation. The bike sharing was so immediately popular there that five more campuses joined within just three months. Today the service is open to anyone in over 180 major cities with a smartphone.

I suspect University of Miami students will be the first to really see the benefits, but hope more catch on. By the way, you're first ride is free. Hope to see you on one of these sweet rides soon!