Mobike has threatened to leave Manchester following high levels of vandalism and theft.
The Chinese company, which operates in over 200 cities, has said they are losing ten percent of its fleet every month and is close to becoming unsustainable.
Steve Milton, Mobike’s global communications and marketing leader, said: “This is not an idle threat. It’s not PR … The losses are not sustainable. We are going to have to draw a line under this at some point.”
“Everyone is unhappy with the current situation. Users are unhappy because they can’t find bikes when they want them, the police are unhappy because they’re having to waste time dealing with petty vandalism and we are unhappy because we aren’t delivering the service we want,” he added.
The group plans to monitor thefts on a month-by-month basis but if levels of theft and vandalism remain high, operations will be suspended in the city.
Jan Van der Ven, Mobike’s UK General Manager said: “We are only viable if our revenues cover our costs, and that is not possible with the current levels of bike loss in Manchester.”
“For that reason, we have sat down with representatives from Manchester City Council, Greater Manchester Police and Transport for Greater Manchester, and have agreed a range of measures to help protect our bikes.”
Chief Supt Wasim Chaudhry from Greater Manchester Police, said: “Our officers are able to check the legitimate use of the Mobike system and we will investigate reports of suspected theft and vandalism just like we would if someone made a report about their own bike.”
“We will always hold those we find breaking the law to account.”
Bike-sharing schemes have proven to be an issue in Europe.
The firm Go.Bee pulled out of Europe entirely earlier this year after thousands of its bikes were stolen or broken and the group went bust soon afterwards.
The Santander-sponsored scheme that opened in Milton Keynes in 2016 left a repair bill of £200,000.