Chinese bike-sharing startup sued after death of minor

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The parents of a child who died in a traffic accident while riding an ofo share bike in Shanghai have sued the fast-growing start-up for financial compensation.

The victim, a fourth-grade primary school student under the age of 12, managed to unlock an ofo bike on March 26 and was riding along with friends before being struck and run over by a bus, according to Chinese media reports. The child died after being taken to hospital.

Following an investigation, local traffic police determined that the child was riding down the wrong side of the road and bore "primary responsibility" for the accident, the reports said.

A teenager trying to unlock a shared bike. /VCG Photo

As the first case of its kind in China, the lawsuit tests the legal responsibility of ofo when underage children access their bicycles, which have become more and more common across the country's major cities.

Chinese traffic regulations stipulate that children must be at least 12 years old to ride bicycles on public roads. But through the parents' lawyer, Zhang Qianlin, the family said ofo should take responsibility given that its bikes are unsupervised and readily available in public spaces. They also claim that the bikes' locks are inadequate.

A minor riding on a shared bike. /VCG Photo

The bikes posed a "great hidden risk to safety", the family said, as reported by the China Youth Daily on Saturday. There have been at least two deaths and more than 10 injuries involving children riding ofo bikes, the report said, raising questions over increased government scrutiny and regulation in the fast-growing market.

"We hope that given share bikes have already become a fixture of city transportation, that (ride-share) platform responsibilities are clarified," Zhang told the newspaper, adding that a push for more government regulation could prevent similar tragedies from happening.

Shared bikes on Beijing street. /VCG Photo

The booming Chinese bike-sharing company and its main rival Mobike did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday. Bike-share users in China numbered around 20 million in 2016 and are expected to reach 198 million by 2021, according to a report by the firm Research and Markets.

Ofo, known for its trademark yellow bikes, has expanded to 100 cities worldwide since its founding in 2014, 70 of which were added this year alone. Earlier this month it raised more than 700 million US dollars in its latest funding round.

(Source: Reuters)

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