oBike Does Not Reclaim Towed Bicycles in NTU|逾千輛oBike堆台大校園 業者竟不領回

Public bike sharing service oBike allows the public to rent and return at any location, and it has gained a lot of popularity in Taipei and New Taipei. However, the service has also led to increased illegal parking. Over 1,200 oBikes have been towed for illegal parking in National Taiwan University's Shuiyuan Campus.


A massive number of towed oBikes, in their typical black and yellow livery, have been towed for illegal parking in the National Taiwan University. Some of bikes have been left here for a long time and have begun to rust. Yet, no one has claimed them so far. The public bike sharing service gained a lot of public attention for its unique feature that allows users to rent and return at any location. However, the feature has also led to controversies over frequent illegal parking.

If (oBike) is more visible and more popular, I would want to try it out.

There were rumors back in June that the oBike headquarters in Singapore announced that it would cease operation. The company's Taiwan branch continued its operation, but the number of oBikes in Taipei and New Taipei has been dwindling. According to a local media, there have been more than 1,200 oBikes that were towed for illegal parking in the National Taiwan University's Shuiyuan Campus, and the company has yet to reclaim any of them. Academics said that the company should have communicated the responsibility of parking properly with its user base, instead of leaving the task of managing the bikes to the local government.

It's quite a pity. The idea of resource sharing fits Taiwan quite well. However, the government didn't know how to work with the company, there wasn't clear model for collaboration. The promotion of the service without a proper management service would naturally result in the mess that we have today.

The company behind oBike did not respond to inquiries from the reporter. The Consumer Protection Committee said, on the other hand, that the public could apply to reclaim their down payment if they worry that the company might go bankrupt. The committee also said that if the company does pull out of the market in Taiwan, they must clear all the deserted bicycles and pay National Taiwan University a large sum for towing all the illegally parked bikes.