BICYCLES CLUTTERING SUBANG STREETS
THERE is something about the yellow bicycles, seen all over Subang Jaya and Bandar Sunway, that just doesn’t click with some residents in the area.
The oBike dockless bicycle sharing system is considered a nuisance rather than a transportation alternative.
Anis Atiqah, who had been living in Subang Jaya for the past 20 years, complained that because the bicycles were dockless, users left them in unusual places.
“Once when I was driving in Bandar Sunway, I saw a man getting out of his car to remove the bicycle from the road.
“I have also seen these bicycles left in drains, and a friend once told me that he saw a bicycle up on a tree.
“Isn’t the operator supposed to be responsible for taking care of these bicycles?” she asked.
She said the bicycles should be parked in safe approved locations so as not to obstruct pedestrians or vehicles.
“Don’t get me wrong, I applaud oBike for introducing a bike-sharing platform.
“But, to resolve this issue, it must educate the public. Right now, I don’t see it doing so.
“Teach the users and public to use the bicycles with care and to place them at the right spots. They can’t introduce this without educating the people and expect everything to be fine and dandy,” she said.
Anis said that she had seen the local council seize the bicycles.
“The local authority had to remove these bicycles when that wasn’t its job in the first place.”
ACTIONLINE:
Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) has told oBike to improve its system.
Its deputy president, Mohd Zulkarnain Che Ali, said although MPSJ agreed with the concept oBike was trying to introduce to Malaysians, it needed to improve its system.
“From what we can see, the operator has failed to take care of its own property. The bicycles are left everywhere, creating hazards and obstructions to the public.
“So, oBike’s objective to provide a transportation alternative cannot be met if its bicycles are not taken care of.
“It got to the point where MPSJ had to step up and seize the bicycles so as not to block anyone’s path,” he said.
He said 18 bicycles were seized all over Subang Jaya by MPSJ enforcement officers.
oBike senior marketing executive Alexander Leow said oBike was working with local authorities to ensure the concept was well-received.
“There is currently no official licensing that covers bicycle sharing. Hence, we have initiated discussions with local authorities.
“These discussions involve topics like bicycle-sharing operation guidelines, licensing, parking locations and setup based on user demands and usage patterns, as well as ways to manage user behaviour,” he told Actionline.
He said oBike had an on-theground team that worked daily to collect the bicycles, conduct maintenance and relocate them to hot spots.
Leow added that oBike had a credit point system where rewards would be given to users who handled and parked the bicycles responsibly.
“Users who didn’t park oBike in a public bicycle parking spot or oBike parking hotspot would have their credit points deducted.
“When more points are deducted, it will result in higher ride charges or even in one’s account being suspended.
“Of course, if users vandalise the bicycles, such incidents will be investigated by our team and police reports will be filed for action.”
He said the objective of oBike was to provide a transportation alternative and a first- or last-mile solution to reduce traffic congestion.
“Being the first bicycle-sharing company to launch in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, we face a number of challenges, like the misunderstanding of a dockless bicyclesharing concept.
“We are aware that the concept is new and the public may not entirely understand how it works, such as how or where to unlock and return the bicycle, hence we have been making user education our first priority since day one of our operation.”