oBike has stopped all bicycle-sharing operations in Singapore. This comes after the company said that it was having trouble meeting new regulations set by the nation’s Land Transport Authority; which required it to apply for a new operating license.
A statement from the company simply said, “”oBike is announcing its decision to cease operation in Singapore as a result of difficulties foreseen to be experienced to fulfil the new requirements and guidelines released by LTA towards dock-less bicycle sharing in Singapore.”
New guidelines were drawn up for dockless bicycle-sharing in Singapore after multiple complaints about how the bicycles were parked. Particularly with social media highlighting how the bikes were left strewn about blocking walkways and pedestrian paths. Not the mention the number of bicycles that ended up in trees and thrown into drains.
The LTA had set a 7 July deadline for applications to operate in public areas, with the authority set to issue said licenses in September. oBike believed that this gap would adversely affect its ability to do business and has instead decided to pull out of Singapore.
Trouble with authorities isn’t exactly unusual for oBike. The company ran into problems in Malaysia when it was fined by the Petaling Jaya City Council for “illegal” operations. Since then the company has been confined to a smaller area in Subang Jaya, and has since been working to re-establish itself in other cities.
[Source: Channel News Asia]
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