Pandemic halts once high-flying Jobike

Jobike has been left crippled by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as the on-demand bicycle rental service provider had to shutter a majority of its operations in the country.

The company was forced to close four of its six operational areas in March last year after the Covid-19 outbreak in Bangladesh.

The service allows users to book a bicycle for short trips within covered areas through its mobile application.

And with the recurring lockdowns and restrictions on public movement imposed in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus, Jobike saw a steep fall in revenue.

After its launch, the company had quickly gained popularity, especially among university students, for its cheap, healthy and environment-friendly alternative to traditional modes of transport.

"The number of bikes and our operation were expanding as the app was getting popular, but the pandemic forced us to pause now," Mehedi Reza, founder and chief executive officer of Jobike, told The Daily Star.

These types of ride-hailing or sharing services were first launched in Bangladesh in mid-2016, when Pathao rolled out its first fleet of motorcycles.

A few months later, global giant Uber hit the streets of Dhaka.

Bangladesh has also seen the launch of Obhai, another ride-sharing service.

To survive the current crisis, Jobike had to lay off 75 per cent of its workforce. Before the pandemic, the company had 55 employees but that number has since shrivelled to just 12.

"We are revising our business model as well as bringing more innovative products to introduce to our market to keep operations going amid the pandemic," he said.

Jobike now focuses more on residential areas rather than university campuses, he said.

Reza left his job at Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in February 2018 to start Jobike.

On June 18 that year, the company's app was launched in Cox's Bazar as a part of its plan to champion two-wheelers as one of the main modes of transport in congested cities.

Months after beginning operations with only 20 bicycles, Jobike rolled out its app in Jahangirnagar University and eventually Dhaka.

By June 2020, the first-ever bike rental service of Bangladesh expanded its footprint to six areas in the capital, including Mirpur DOHS, Dhaka University, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and Chittagong University with a fleet of more than 300 bicycles.

During the pre-pandemic era, the company had plans to continue expanding.

"It saved time, money and was convenient to use," said Sunjida Islam Srabony, a student of Dhaka University.

"Our hall was a little outside of the main campus, so we used Jobike as much as twice a day, reducing our dependence on rickshaws."

According to Jobike, the company now operates in just two locations -- Mirpur DOHS and Gulshan.

But during a recent visit to the Gulshan area, this correspondent could not find any sign of Jobikes being used anywhere, even in the spot designated as a "refill point" on the app.

A few residents told The Daily Star that they have not seen anyone using the Jobike service in the past few weeks.

Two residents of Mirpur DOHS echoed the same.

When contacted, the Jobike CEO said they partially shut their Gulshan operations amid the recent upsurge in Covid-19 infections.

The pandemic's continued onslaught has also left many of the bicycles damaged or rusted.

"Around 140 bicycles were damaged because most of them were left on campus grounds without any maintenance during the coronavirus outbreak."

During its heyday, Jobike registered one lakh rides per month.

When the company first rolled out its service in Dhaka University back in October 2019, it was already close to its break-even point.

"Because of the pandemic, we had to shut down our operation from universities and Cox's Bazar, which ended up with no business at all."

To survive the coronavirus fallout, it started the "Jodelivery" service to ensure last mile delivery solutions. The service ran for six months but it was finally closed because of no considerable success.

"We are trying to raise funds. We have confirmed an investment, which is in the pipeline and will help us to introduce more bicycles in our city," Reza added.

Now, the company has 35,000 registered users from Gulshan and 6,000 registered users in Mirpur DOHS.

They had 1,000-1,500 rides per day at Gulshan and 600 rides per day in Mirpur DOHS in the pre-pandemic times.

After releasing the app in the Google Play Store on April 29, 2018, at least one million people installed it as of July 12 this year.

Users are usually charged Tk 3 for every five minutes in campuses and Tk 1 per minute in other areas.

According to Reza, the use of Jobike's services has saved over 875,000 pounds of Co2 from entering the atmosphere in the last two-and-a-half years.

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 on the planet, or taking 100 passenger vehicles off the road for a year, he said.

"The pandemic has prompted people to think more about the welfare of the mother-Earth. So, we think Jobike will rebound strongly when the pandemic situation eases as users frequently ask us when we will start our service at full throttle again."