Ofo ceases operations in Melaka

FILE PHOTO: Ofo bike-sharing bicycles are pictured in Singapore August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

Ofo has ceased operations in Malaysia, more than a year after the bike-sharing service expanded into Melaka in 2017.

In a statement to A+M magazine, ofo’s spokesperson said the company was reorganising its international market strategy to “focus on priority countries”, which in Asia includes Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.

“As part of our focus, we have been working towards profitability and this has meant that some markets have had change in staff priorities and positions. We remain fully committed to providing affordable, efficient green mobility options to our priority markets,” says the spokesperson.

The Alibaba-backed company from Beijing, China first rolled into Melaka in 2017 with a fleet of 500 bicycles. 

During the trial phase, the rides used to cost RM1 an hour. 

A check of Ofo's website showed the rides should still cost the same, though there is no alert to show the service has shut down on its site. 

Meanwhile, Ofo Malaysia's Facebook last posted on July 31 that its bikes were being sold to the public, and warned that unauthorised sales and removal of bicycles will be reported to the local authorities.

Another bike-sharing company, oBike ceased operations in Singapore this June, leaving users in a lurch with millions of dollars in deposits yet to be returned while the service's 14,000 bicycles remain strewn across the city. 

It is unclear what will happen to Ofo's bikes in Melaka, though the service does not require a deposit from users.