Share bikes to `double’ in Waverley with new start-up company
THE number of share bikes in Waverley will soon double with the arrival of a new start-up company.
Wentworth Courier
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THE number of share bikes in Waverley will soon double with the arrival of a new start-up company.
Ofo, the Chinese pioneer of the rental bike craze, yesterday announced its expansion to Sydney following its pilot scheme in Adelaide.
The first 200 bikes will be deployed in the City of Sydney before an additional 200 bikes each to Waverley and Inner West council areas in the next few weeks.
Waverley Mayor John Wakefield said Ofo did not need approval from council before rolling out the bikes locally.
“There is no planning process, no development application approval,” he said.
“We’re now wrestling with different ways of attempting to constrain and control these new entries.”
Ofo claims to have hold of more than 50 per cent of the global market, having rolled out 10 million bikes in 16 countries and 180 cities.
But the bicycle rental scheme has promised its expansion in Sydney would be done “the right way”.
“We are committed to working with local councils, government and cycling stakeholders to provide a bike share scheme which truly works for each city,” said Ofo’s chief operating officer and co-founder Zhang Yanqi.
“We are dedicated to making Australian cities as green and liveable as possible by providing the ultimate healthy and low-carbon mobility solution.”
Cr Wakefield said he was worried about the extra share bikes and had sought legal advice last week.
“Our understanding, our advice, is that we have limited powers under the Impounding Act to remove and impound bikes that are causing a safety risk,” he said.
“I’m certainly concerned about it ... we only have limited control over these bikes.
“While we’re not getting a lot of complaints yet, a doubling of the number may well see the number of complaints increase significantly.”
Cr Wakefield urged share bike operators to “improve their acts and operations” because it was affecting local residents.
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