Another Bike Sharing Company Bites the Dust: Employees Say Bluegogo is Gonegone

On November 15, Bike sharing company Bluegogo employees posted on a professional social platform that Bluegogo had been disbanded, and it will continue to default on employee salaries until February 10, 2018.

Bluegogo staff told Jiemian the company was disbanded and many employees have gone unpaid. Most employees were not paid during the last month, and some managers have gone two or more months without pay. If it the corporation’s financial situation is okay, employees can apply for compensation of one to three months’ salary.

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The employee also said the reports were basically true. “As an ordinary employee, of course, I hope to receive my pay right away. But the company is not in a good situation at the moment,” he said.

In addition, Bluegogo said it disbanded most of its employees yesterday, leaving only a handful of employees in product technology. SpeedX, another company owned by Gang Li that shares an office with Bluegogo, dismissed all its staff except senior executives.

Bluegogo also began selling its office furniture on WeChat Moments. One ad read, “Like new office furniture, fashionable and simple style, for sale.”

Bluegogo reportedly has yet to settle its debts with suppliers. According to icsmart.cn, Bluegogo has defaulted on as much as 60 million yuan. Suppliers went to the Bluegogo office to seek payment.

Some netizens also reported the refund information in Bluegogo’s bicycle software has disappeared, and the “Deposit” shown in the app has been changed from “Refund” to “No Deposit.” Users have not been able to reclaim their funds. On October 20, Bluegogo said, “Users who apply for refunds on October 30, 2017 will receive them by November 10.” Many users said they have not received a refund.

In March, Bluegogo introduced a semi-annual privilege card activity in Beijing. Users could pay 199 yuan and ride Bluegogo bikes for free for half a year. After six months, users could apply for a full refund. It was the equivalent to a 199-yuan deposit for free riding for six months. After that period, users discovered they were forced to upgrade to a one year subscription with no warning. This led many users to postpone their request for a refund.

A number of media reported that Bluegogo’s Chengdu office was empty on October 31.

The company reportedly completed a 400-million-yuan A round financing in January 2017. Black Hole Capital led the investment and was followed by Elex. The valuation of Bluegogo reached 1 billion yuan. The company sought B round financing in March, but investors did not reach a decision. To this date, the company’s B-round financing has never been received.

Some media reported that Bluegogo offered to be sell itself to ofo and Mobike. Mobike reportedly rejected that offer.