oBike

oBike
Industry Transportation
Founded November 2016 (2016-11)
Founders Shi Yi[1], Edward Chen[2]
Headquarters Singapore
Areas served
Products Bicycle sharing services
Website o.bike

oBike is a Singaporean stationless bicycle-sharing system with operations in several countries. The bikes have a built-in Bluetooth lock and can therefore be left anywhere at the end of a journey, not just at a docking station. Users use a smartphone app to locate and hire bikes. It launched in Singapore in February 2017, and ceased operation on 25 June 2018 in Singapore. Subsequently, the parent company filed for insolvency in its home market.[3][4][5][6] The effect on operations outside of Singapore is unknown.[7]

The firm had expanded to 24 countries including Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Taiwan, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France and Sweden.[8][9]

oBikes, Putney Bridge Approach, London, July 2017

The system

The Lock of oBike.

The bicycles are single speed with a plastic chainguard, short mudguards on both wheels, front and rear rim brakes, and dynamo electric lights.

To make use of the system, one must download the oBike application, register and pay a deposit. The App is used to rent and return the bicycles and users are charged by 15 or 30 minutes, with payment charged to their Credit/Debit card. To ride bikes, users must have an internet connection and Bluetooth enabled on their mobile device to enable unlocking of their desired oBike, which is done by scanning the QR code or entering the corresponding bicycle number. If successful, the lock on the rear wheel opens automatically. Once users finish their ride, they need to manually lock and leave the bike in any parking spot to be ready for the next user. At the time of locking the bike the user must again ensure they have a Bluetooth and an internet connection, in order for the oBike system to record the end of the ride and correctly calculate the hire charge. If violations are reported, a credit system penalizes the corresponding user after a certain number of times, and in extreme cases, the user could be suspended from the platform. At the beginning of 2018 oBike entered into a partnership with TRON. In addition customers of oBike can use the app to pay with the Cryptocurrency ″oCoin″ in future.[10]

Areas serviced

Asia

Singapore

When oBike first started its operations in Singapore, 1,000 oBike bicycles were rolled out across the city. [11] One month later, the Singapore Land Transport Authority rolled out bicycle parking zones in seven areas and in April, the company officially launched. Tampines Town Council is their partner for the Ride and Roll programme. [12] [13]

On 25 June 2018, oBike announced that they were exiting the Singaporean market as they are unable to meet new legislation addressing indiscriminate parking of bikes.[14] Under the new rules set by LTA, operators will have to pay a S$30 licensing fee and a S$30 security deposit for every bicycle they deploy and a S$1,500 one-time application fee.[15]

Malaysia

Launched in the capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Korea

Launched in Seoul.

Thailand

Launched in Bangkok in July 2017.

Hong Kong

oBike launched in Hong Kong on 15 September 2017, with 1,000 bikes available in Tung Chung, Yuen Long, Tuen Mun and Tseung Kwan O[16], becoming the third operator provides bike-sharing service in Hong Kong. Bike hire in Hong Kong area is HK$3 for 15 minutes, with a HK$350 deposit being required.

Taiwan

oBike’s Bicycle-sharing system began operations in Taiwan during April 2017 under the management of Taiwan's Aozhi Network Technology Co., Ltd.[17] As of 20 June 2017, oBike has set up shop in the cities of Keelung, New Taipei, Taipei, Hsinchu, Tainan and Kaohsiung as well as the counties of Nantou, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung.

oBikes, Taitung, Taiwan

Australia

oBike launched in Melbourne, Australia in June 2017. At the end of August 2017 the Melbourne City Council began impounding the bikes, declaring them visual pollution after they were found on a raft in Albert Park Lake, up trees, on railway tracks, and on top of toilet blocks.[18][19] Lord Mayor Robert Doyle described them as "urban clutter" but did not take any action in regards to banning them. After oBikes were found to be submerged in the Yarra River, the company was requested to hire external contractors by Parks Victoria to recover the bikes. The month of September saw more than 40 bikes being removed from the river.[20] In August 2017, oBike launched in Sydney. By October 2017, there were similar complaints of oBikes being left in trees, parks and other public places.[21][22][23] oBike has announced it will cease operations in Melbourne after the city council was given the right to fine the company $3,000 every time it failed to comply with tighter regulations from the Victorian Environment Protection Authority[24]

oBike also operated in Adelaide[25], Brisbane, Sydney[25], and The Gold Coast, but current status of these operations is unknown.

Europe

Austria

oBike went bankrupt in Vienna and stopped operation. Service started on 17 August 2017.[26] Bike hire was €1/30 minutes.

Germany

oBike launched in Munich on 24 August 2017 and Hanover on 15 November 2017. They had to withdraw 6000 bikes from Munich already. Bike hire is €1/30 minutes with a €79 deposit (€29 for students).[27] The sale of oBikes was banned by the state of Schleswig-Holstein in September 2018.[28]


Netherlands

The Netherlands is oBike's first European market. It officially launched in Rotterdam in June 2017 and Amsterdam in July 2017, and was banned from Amsterdam in October 2017. Bike hire is €0.25 per 15 minutes with a €79 deposit (€49 for students). [29][30][31]

Spain

oBike launched in Madrid in September 2017, operated by oBike Spain, SL.

Switzerland

oBike launched in Zurich in July 2017, operated by oBike Swiss Ltd.[32] It originally deployed approximately 350 bikes and soon after increased to 900.[33] Bike hire is CHF 1.50 for 30 minutes with a CHF 129 deposit.[34]. Meanwhile oBike has stopped its service in Switzerland [35].

United Kingdom

In July 2017, oBike launched in London with 400 bikes[36][37] Bike hire is 50p for 30 minutes with a £49 deposit.[36][38] oBike's operations in London were put on hiatus at the end of 2017 [39]

Belgium

oBike started its service on 22 September 2017 in Brussels. The bike hire is €1/30 minutes.

Sweden

oBike launched in Stockholm on 15 November 2017. The bike hire will be 10 SEK/30 minutes after the initial free winter trial period.

Italy

oBike launched in Turin on 17 November 2017. The bike hire is €0.50/30 minutes after the initial free trial period ended on 31 December 2017 and a brief period at €0.30/30 minutes. oBike is also available in municipalities I and II of Rome as of march 2018. The bike hire is €0.50/30 minutes.

Controversy

Switzerland

In June 2018, oBike announced the withdrawal of its bike fleet from Zurich. According to news reports, the low quality of the bikes, vandalism, the aggressive initial roll-out and controversies about the company's data collection and privacy policy forced oBike to withdraw all of its bikes. By November 2017, the company had stopped paying the local delivery and service companies which were hired to maintain the local bike fleet [40].

Germany

In March 2018, oBike announced the withdrawal of the majority of bikes from Munich. The city accused the firm of making mistakes in the roll out of the service which left bikes vandalised and obstructing the city.[41][42] 12,000 oBikes already sold in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein will have to be called back after the state ministry for consumer protection banned their sale in September 2018. The reason for the ban was a lack of roadworthiness because of poor brake performance.[28]

Singapore

Users with $19/$49 deposits were unable to gain a refund via the Obike app.[43] Obikes are now being left abandoned on Singapore's streets and Land Transport Authority(LTA) is currently working with the company to remove them with the purpose of preventing people from disassembling them for spare parts.[44] On 28 June LTA instructed the company to remove the bikes by 4th July or they will be charged for the towing and storage service by LTA. The Consumers Association of Singapore(CASE) also told customers to keep proof of debt while the company assets are liquidated.[45] Obike chairman Shi Yi told Lianhe Zaobao that he is willing to use his shares to bear the cost of refunding users' deposit in the worst case scenario.[46] He also said that the company's ability to refund users will be affect if LTA imposed fines on them implying that the deposits which are to be refunded will be used to pay off the fines instead.[47][48]

Taiwan

Bicycles parking in car parking spots

oBike bicycles parking in normal automobile parking caused public complaints.[49][50] The Keelung City Government, Taipei City Government and Yilan County Government have since stated that bicycles can legally park in automobile spots.[51][52][53] On 7 July 2017 the New Taipei City Government Transportation Department announced a ban on rental bicycles parking in automobile spots in the districts of Sanchong, Tucheng, Zhonghe and 11 other districts as well as bicycle parking spots around MRT stations, train stations and other public transportation areas.[54]

Other

oBikes parked in automobile parking spots

In April 2017 during its trial period, several instances of parking violations in Taipei; The Taipei City Government Transportation Department required oBike to reach an agreement with the city before continuing operations.[55]

In May 2017, in the county of Taitung, the Taitung Police Department discovered many people parking illegally;[56] in the county of Hualien, oBike bicycles were parked on the sidewalk in front of the Yuli Train Station, inciting complaints from the public;[57] in the city of Tainan, the government made oBike undergo an audit before continuing operations;[58] in the county of Yilian, oBike bicycles were parked on pedestrian walkways and in automobile parking spots. Jiang Congyuan, the mayor of Yilian, stated that if the company does not control this, they will begin confiscating the bicycles.[59] On May 31, the city of Yilian confiscated 34 illegally parked bicycles.[60]

United Kingdom

In Hammersmith and Fulham the local authority placed obstruction notices on some oBikes parked on the public highway or "littering" the city.[61][62]

Australia

After oBike has announced it ceased operations in Melbourne, there were reports of lots of users being unable to get their deposits back, or having their deposits unwittingly converted to VIP subscriptions. Furthermore, the app was redesigned to prevent people from requesting refunds. [63][64]

See also

References

  1. ↑ hermes (1 October 2017). "It Changed My Life: Health crisis opened oBike founder's eyes to China's potential".
  2. ↑ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com.
  3. ↑ (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Insolvent bike-sharer Obike abandons bicycles throughout Europe | DW | 11.07.2018". DW.COM. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  4. ↑ "Leihradanbieter Obike meldet Insolvenz an". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). 2018-07-11. ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  5. ↑ hermesauto (2018-07-05). "Provisional liquidators appointed for bicycle-sharing firm oBike". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  6. ↑ hermesauto (2018-07-12). "Liquidators of oBike urge affected customers to submit deposit claims online". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  7. ↑ "End of the road for oBike? Parent company goes into liquidation". ABC News. 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  8. ↑ "Obike brings station-less hire bikes to London". Cyclist. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "oBike to roll out bike sharing model in 10 more countries". Fin24. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  10. ↑ oBike partners Tron to launch its own cryptocurrency called oCoins for users to pay for rides businessinsider.sg
  11. ↑ Lim, Adrian (13 April 2017). "Bike-sharing start-up oBike officially launches, to offer Tampines residents free one-month usage". The Straits Times. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "LTA rolls out bicycle parking zones". Channel News Asia. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  13. ↑ Othman, Liyana (13 April 2017). "oBike to introduce points system that penalises 'ungracious' users". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  14. ↑ hermesauto (2018-06-25). "oBike ceases operations in Singapore, citing difficulties in meeting new LTA regulations". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  15. ↑ Cheok, Jacquelyn. "oBike blames new rules for Singapore exit, but writing already on the wall".
  16. ↑ Nikki Sun (16 September 2017). "Singapore operator oBike rides into Hong Kong with 1,000 shared bicycles". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  17. ↑ TVBS. "YouBike新對手！　民營鐵馬「Obike」駐北市│TVBS新聞網". news.tvbs.com.tw. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  18. ↑ Bowden, Ebony (1 September 2017). "'Illegally dumped rubbish': Council removes oBikes blocking Melbourne footpaths". Retrieved 12 October 2017 – via The Age.
  19. ↑ Zhou, Naaman (25 June 2017). "Dockless bike share: privacy and safety concerns voiced ahead of Sydney launch". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  20. ↑ Masanauskas, John (18 November 2017). "More oBikes fished from Yarra River". Herald Sun. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  21. ↑ O'Sullivan, Matt (14 October 2017). "Pranksters cause headaches for Sydney councils wanting to control share bikes". Retrieved 15 October 2017 – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  22. ↑ "Randwick City Council council to crack down on share bikes". 11 October 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017 – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  23. ↑ Glover, Richard (20 October 2017). "Richard Glover: Civil disobedience hits the suburbs as share bikes multiply". Retrieved 21 October 2017 – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  24. ↑ "Vexed oBike sharing scheme quits Melbourne after crackdown". abc.net.au. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  25. 1 2 "oBike Australia" Check |url= value (help). oBike. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  26. ↑ "Der erste Wiener oBike-Test – Fahrrad Wien". www.fahrradwien.at. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  27. ↑ "oBike Germany" Check |url= value (help). oBike (in German). Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  28. 1 2 Popien, Matthias (27 September 2018). "Schleswig-Holstein verbietet Verkauf von Obikes". Hamburger Abendblatt (in German). Retrieved 27 September 2018. (Registration required (help)).
  29. ↑ Keunen, Yvonne (16 June 2017). "Rotterdam krijgt als eerste stad de deelfiets om overal te stallen". Algemeen Dagblad. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  30. ↑ Teuling, Ike (6 July 2017). "Concurrentiestrijd op deelfietsmarkt barst los in grote steden". de Volkskrant. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  31. ↑ https://www.o.bike/nl/
  32. ↑ Petrò, Lorenzo (14 July 2017). "Plötzlich hat Zürich einen mobilen Veloverleih". Tages-Anzeiger. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  33. ↑ Metzler, Beat (9 August 2017). "Neue Regeln für asiatischen Veloverleih in Zürich". Tages-Anzeiger.
  34. ↑ Giusto, Lina (17 July 2017). "O-Bike nutzt gewisse Orte übermässig". Tages-Anzeiger. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  35. ↑ Sarasin, David (26 June 2017). "Das schlechte Geschäft mit O-Bike". Tages-Anzeiger. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  36. 1 2 Laura Laker (12 July 2017). "London's first dockless hire bike scheme launches | Environment". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  37. ↑ Sean Morrison. "Dockless Boris bike rival oBike launches in London with 400 cycles for hire | London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  38. ↑ Burgess, Matt. "oBike is putting thousands of bikes on the streets of London | WIRED UK". Wired.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  39. ↑ "Is shared cycling in London on a road to nowhere?". The Guardian. 3 December 2017.
  40. ↑ Sarasin, David. "Das schlechte Geschäft mit O-Bike". Tages-Anzeiger, Tages-Anzeiger (in German). ISSN 1422-9994. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  41. ↑ Schubert, Andreas (2017-09-10). "Obikes in München: Imageschaden im Eiltempo". sueddeutsche.de (in German). ISSN 0174-4917. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  42. ↑ Crone, Philipp (2018). "Obike zieht Großteil der Leihräder aus München ab". sueddeutsche.de (in German). ISSN 0174-4917. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  43. ↑ "Users seek refunds for deposits as oBike exits Singapore bike-sharing market - Techgoondu". techgoondu.com. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  44. ↑ "LTA to engage oBike on exit plans amid concerns over idle bicycles on streets". sgdexpress.net. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  45. ↑ "LTA instructs oBike to remove bicycles by next Wednesday".
  46. ↑ "oBike owes users $6.3m in deposits". 3 July 2018.
  47. ↑ "LTA 'deeply disappointed' in oBike, says will impose fees if bicycles not cleared".
  48. ↑ "Extra costs for not clearing bicycles 'might affect' refund of users' deposits: oBike chairman".
  49. ↑ 許家寧 (2017-05-02). "oBike進駐花蓮 機車族怨難停車". 中國時報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  50. ↑ 張芮瑜 (2017-05-24). "oBike首波宜蘭投放 民眾怨：占用機車格？". 聯合報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  51. ↑ 俞肇福 (2017-05-29). "oBike該停哪？ 基市府這樣說…". 自由時報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  52. ↑ 林媛玲 (2017-06-26). "Obike佔用機車格被轟　交通局：可停機車格". 台灣蘋果日報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  53. ↑ 張芸甄 (2017-05-25). "【有片】oBike現身宜蘭　連縣議會停車場也攻佔". 台灣蘋果日報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  54. ↑ "oBike占用機車格 新北市公告禁停" (in Chinese). 新北市政府交通局. 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  55. ↑ "針對obike營運及車輛投放管理之因應作為" (Press release) (in Chinese). 臺北市政府交通局. 2017-04-10. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  56. ↑ 陳賢義 (2017-05-13). "方便不要變隨便 台東oBike任意停將開罰". 自由時報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  57. ↑ 陳麗婷 (2017-05-10). "oBike「快閃」單車版Uber挨批占用公有土地". 聯合報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-05-10.
  58. ↑ "交通局要求oBike業者需申請核可後始得營運" (in Chinese). 臺南市政府新聞及國際關係處. 2017-05-31. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  59. ↑ 胡健森 (2017-05-25). "oBike上路亂象多 縣府將開罰、公所要扣車". 中時電子報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  60. ↑ 胡健森 (2017-05-31). "oBike亂象多 宜蘭市公所展鐵腕扣車". 中時電子報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  61. ↑ City AM, http://www.cityam.com/268482/odear-obike-dockless-bike-startups-london-launch-doesnt-go
  62. ↑ "Cycle hire company oBike accused of 'littering' London's streets". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  63. ↑ Clun, Rachel (2018-06-27). "oBike users sweat on deposit refunds as company hits the skids". The Age. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  64. ↑ Zhou, Naaman (2018-06-26). "OBike customers say deposit refund button on app now deleted". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
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