More signs of bike-sharing’s alleged cash crunch as oBike, Ofo feel the heat in Singapore

Photo credit: Cheng-Jung Chen

Singapore ride-hailing firm oBike has come under fire for repurposing users’ deposits to sign them up to subscriptions without their knowledge.

Meanwhile, Chinese rival Ofo is also said to be facing difficulties in Singapore, with a warehouse-load of its bicycles reportedly being put up for sale.

The rumors about the two firms come amid reports of increasingly serious cash shortages at bike-sharing companies across Asia Pacific.

Citing Reddit threads, personal finance site Seedly said that oBike had apparently “converted” some deposits into 1,095-day “Super VIP” (SVIP) subscriptions.

According to a Reddit post (screengrabbed below), affected users made the mandatory S$49 (US$36.72) deposit when they first downloaded the oBike app but have barely used the service since.

Affected users have claimed they weren’t notified that their deposits had been turned into subscriptions, a move that would theoretically allow oBike to keep hold of the cash:

Tech in Asia is reaching out to oBike users to independently verify the claims.

Without your consent

Ofos fo’ sale

Cash crunch