OBIKE bicycles left lying on pavements has become a common sight, says Bukit Bandaraya Residents Association (BBRA) adviser Datuk M. Ali.
“Sometimes, residents here, with their children or pets, have to make way for the bicycles by walking on the road instead.
“The bicycles are dumped around the city centre. They are an eyesore. The operator must pick up the bicycles,” he said in a complaint to Actionline.
He urged Kuala Lumpur City Hall to confiscate such bicycles and work with the operator to ensure that the issue was resolved.
“They are bound by law to ensure that our pavements are safe and free from obstruction,” he added.
ACTIONLINE:
A Kuala Lumpur City Hall spokesman said bicycles left unattended outside their designated docking station for a period of 24 hours or more will be confiscated by the authorities for obstruction.
He said City Hall had confiscated 123 oBikes from August to December last year for obstruction under Section 46(1) of the Street, Drainage and Building Act.
“Fifty-three of the oBikes have been destroyed and the other 70 are still in our store.
“We will destroy them if the operator of the stationless bike-sharing service does not come and collect them within a given period.
“Those hired by oBike to pick up the bicycles must do it promptly because users of the service tend to dump the bicycles where they see fit once they are done using them.
oBike in a statement said users could report any indiscriminately parked oBikes
via its app or Facebook page www.facebook.com/oBikeMY.
It said it would liaise with City Hall on the matter.
When asked if it had enough workers to retrieve bikes left lying around, the company said it constantly reviewed its resources and manpower so that its bike management was efficient.
It said that campaigns had been carried out to boost awareness of how to use the bike-sharing service.
“We have created a credit point system, where users who have parked our bikes indiscriminately will have their credit points deducted.
“Each oBike user will have 100 credit points when they first register with oBike.
“Every time a bicycle is parked indiscriminately, 20 points will be deducted.”
The oBike app has a map showing restricted areas where its bicycles can be used.
oBike users are required to park in designated parking spots.
The company said it would reclaim its bicycles that had been confiscated by City Hall.