Messy Mobikes Maddening Chiswick Residents

Bikes from the rental scheme are causing street clutter say some

The Mobike low-cost bike share scheme which was introduced into Chiswick is drawing and increasing number of complaints from local residents.

After a period earlier in the year when the bright orange bikes seemed to have disappeared, a new batch has been delivered and some locals say it is causing street clutter. It has been claimed that the withdrawal of the scheme from the Ealing area has meant that there are far more bikes being left around Chiswick.

The main problem, apart from the docking stations that appear overnight, is that the bikes can be left at random locations, and they are frequently abandoned outside homes, or across pavements, causing an obstruction for pedestrians.

These photographs have been sent in by irate businesses and residents who say they can see no benefit from having the rental bikes clutter up the street.

Two mobikes were used in a robbery earlier this week when a man walking near Rusthall Avenue had his phone snatched by two suspects who escaped on Mobikes. Ironically there was a mobike docking station only yards away from the scene of the crime.

Below is a new docking station on Turnham Green. It is not known what the criteria is for the company to set up a docking station.

Hounslow agreed to the bikes in Brentford and Chiswick for a 12-month trial period and as yet there is no feedback on whether the Council considers it a success.

Chiswickw4.com has received complaints from residents in the past week about the orange bikes being randomly abandoned in the middle of pavements, even when a docking station is visibly close. Cyclists use an app to book and dock the bikes, and they are supposed to leave them at a MPL - a Mobike Preferred Location - or a bike rack.

Hounslow Council says it wants to ensure that the bikes don’t lead to obstruction of the footway or take up cycle parking spaces used by existing cyclists, and that it encourages people to report such incidences during the trial. However some people feel it is unfair to have this burden placed on local residents.

The bikes feature an integrated ‘smart lock’ which allows them to be GPS tracked, as well as locking the back wheel when not being used. The expensive 'docking station' such as those needed for the Santander cycles is not needed.

Users can communicate views on the trial with Mobike via their 24 hour contact centre on 0330 131 9789, if there are issues with bikes or their accounts they can be contacted via support.uk@mobike.com, or using the Mobike App.

Mobike, which is a Chinese based firm, entered the UK market in Manchester earlier in summer and picked Ealing borough to deliver its London service with an initial 750 bikes-this has now been extended to Brentford and Chiswick. To hire the bikes users download the Mobike app (Android , IOS), fill in their personal details, pay the deposit, and are ready to go. London users get a discounted deposit of £1. Users are then charged 50p for 30 minutes.

The bikes can be unlocked using a QR code.

A similarly named scheme called Obike was launched in Hammersmith & Fulham by a company from Singapore but caused problems as carelessly abandoned bikes caused obstructions.

The Contact Centre is open from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and there is an out of hours service, both contacted by telephone on 0330 131 9789 or support.uk@mobike.com You will need the bike number, which is painted on the bike, when you call.

Mobike also operates in 150 cities most recently launching in Florence and Milan. The company raised over $1billion last year and was reportedly valued at up to $3billion.

November 23, 2018