Beijing's Bluegogo bike-hire service seeks Sydney launch
Beijing-based start-up Bluegogo is in early-stage talks with Sydney to bring a bicycle hire app service to the New South Wales capital. Users would be able to rent a bike via their smartphone for 99 cents ($0.75) per 30 minutes. Bluegogo has requested access to Central, Town Hall and Wynyard train stations to place bikes, as well as on-street parking locations. The firm is among China's top three bike-sharing start-ups and the first to expand internationally, having launched in San Francisco in January. However, the Sydney and New South Wales governments are yet to resolve which of them has oversight of the service.

One of China's hottest tech start-ups wants to bring the next frontier of the digital sharing economy to Sydney: bicycles.

Beijing-based Bluegogo has pitched its business case to the City of Sydney, and wants to launch an app service that would cost users 99 cents to hire a bike for 30 minutes.

Bluegogo chief operating officer Sun Ye says the Beijing bike sharing company is looking to expand internationally, but will adapt to local needs. Credit: Sanghee Liu

Users would find a nearby Bluegogo bike using a smart phone app, which reserves the bike, and then scan a code to unlock it. The app also enables digital payment when the bike is parked.

Millions of share bikes have hit the streets of Chinese cities in the past six months, encouraging tech-savvy commuters to cycle between train stations and the office, or ditch the car or bus completely.