After the bike-sharing firm oBike ceased its operations in Singapore on Monday, its customers went into a frenzy trying to get their deposits of S$49, and S$19 for students, back.
This led to a steep rise in the number of complaints to the Consumers Association of Singapore against the company.
Many also noted that the deposit refund button on oBike’s app had disappeared, with their co-founder announcing that the company was going into liquidation.
https://theindependent.sg.sg/obike-deposit-refund-button-on-app-mysteriously-disappeared-company-now-in-liquidation/
However, fellow bike-sharing firm Mobike has decided to waive the deposit for all its users in Singapore, where both existing and new users who have registered a Mobike account using a local Singapore phone number will not need to pay the deposit.
Existing users can also request a refund by logging into the mobile app and selecting the refund button on the ‘My Wallet’ page, where the S$49 will then be refunded into the user’s account within 10 working days.
This is because, Mobike has feels that its bikes are being used responsibly in Singapore, where previously, the deposits were introduced to encourage the proper usage of its bicycles.
Sharon Meng, the country Manager of Mobike Singapore said, “We would like to thank our riders in Singapore for helping to cultivate a healthy and enjoyable bike-sharing experience for all”.
She continued, “In our show of appreciation, we are waiving deposits for Singapore-registered users”.
Netizens however still felt that it might be bettwe to do away with bike-sharing services altogether, while some still griped about their un-refunded oBike deposits.
obbana@theindependent.sg