LTA gives Feb 13 deadline to Ofo to cut bicycle fleet, set up QR-code parking system

SINGAPORE — The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has given an ultimatum to bike-sharing operator Ofo to reduce its fleet and meet all regulatory requirements by Feb 13, or its licence could be suspended.

Ofo has breached multiple regulatory requirements since it was granted its licence about three months ago, the LTA said in a statement on Tuesday (Jan 15).

“Ofo has not been able to reduce its deployed bicycle fleet to the stipulated maximum fleet size of 10,000, despite multiple warnings and regulatory action taken against them,” the authority said.

Ofo has not managed to implement the QR-code parking system by Jan 14 either.

The LTA viewed these as “serious breaches of critical requirements”, especially since the firm was given “ample preparation period for compliance”.

The authority already issued an earlier warning in November last year, when it served a notice to Ofo saying there could be possible regulatory actions as the company’s fleet size is beyond the maximum allowed.

On Tuesday, LTA reminded other bike-sharing operators to comply with all licence conditions.

Applications for operators’ licences opened in May last year and the authority said that it has been “communicating to potential licensees” the regulatory requirements and the need to comply with them after the licences have been issued.

It has also been working with licensees after the first batch of licences was awarded in October last year to help them comply with the requirements.

Based in China and backed by conglomerate Alibaba Group, Ofo has been battling cash-flow problems and dealing with irate customers demanding refunds of their deposits.

TODAY earlier reported that the bike-sharing firm owed at least two vendors here unpaid sums totalling more than S$700,000 for logistic services.

Employees in Ofo’s Singapore office are also owed thousands of dollars in unpaid transport and mobile phone claims accumulated over more than six months.