Photos of a mould-infested oBike has been circulating online after the bicycle was reportedly found in Sembawang days after the bicycle sharing company pulled out of Singapore. While it was only recently that the bike was discovered, the severity of the mold infestation suggests that the bike was abandoned long before the sudden move by oBike.
While oBike cited the foreseen difficulties to continue making profit here due to new Land Transport Authority (LTA) requirements to tackle indiscriminate bicycle parking as the reason for its departure from Singapore, news reports revealed that the company was not doing very well financially.
Shortly after oBike announced its decision to cease operation in Singapore, social media became flooded with the hashtag #refundmydeposit by loyal customers who had been left in the lurch after paying a sizeable $49 deposit to use the service. An app update that removed the refund button in the mobile application caused disgruntled customers to go into even more of a frenzy.
The LTA has given oBike until Wednesday to remove their bicycles from the country. Meanwhile, frustrated customers are being referred to the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case).
https://theindependent.sg.sg/will-khaw-boon-wan-and-lta-step-up-to-resolve-obike-deposit-refund-issue/