‘PADLOCKING’ OBIKE VANDALS
A USER of bicycle-sharing service oBike complained about people who used personal padlocks to prevent others from using the bicycles in Kuala Lumpur. The complainant said this needed to be addressed because it deprived others from using the service.
“They would even keep the oBikes in private residences, such as apartments.”
The service is provided at public spots, such as outside MRT or LRT stations, and higher learning institutions.
With the oBike app that comes with the service, users can see available bicycles on a map and can reserve one.
Users are charged 50 sen for every 15 minutes they ride the bicycle.
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Those who vandalise oBike bicycles may be sentenced to a jail term of one to five years, a fine, or both.
It is punishable under Section 427 of the Penal Code for committing mischief and causing damage to property.
oBike marketing manager Elaine Chan said it would report such incidents to the police. “It is unfortunate that there are cases where oBike bicycles were vandalised.
“We work with the local authorities, our partners, the media and police to tackle vandalism.
“We have filed reports for vandalism and theft of our bicycles.”
oBike Malaysia has a creditpoint system, where users are rewarded for using and parking the bicycles responsibly.
Those who don’t park the bicycles in a public bicycle parking spot or oBike parking hotspots would have their credit points deducted.
“We urge people to support us to deter vandalism, and report to us or the police if they see people vandalising our bicycles.”