Stationless bike-sharing platform oBike has said it might appeal the New Taipei City Department of Transportation’s ban on parking oBikes in public parking spaces in 11 densely populated districts.
The ban follows complaints against oBike — a Singapore-based company that began operating in Taiwan in April — that their bikes often occupy public parking spaces for motorcycles or are parked in ways that obstruct pedestrians.
The bicycle sharing service has a “rent anywhere, return anywhere” policy that allows users to leave the bicycles where they want.
Photo: Lee Ya-wen, Taipei Times
As a result of the ban, 969 of the company’s bikes had been towed as of Sunday, mostly from the city’s Tamsui (淡水), Luzhou (蘆洲), Sanchong (三重), Yonghe (永和), Jhonghe (中和), Banciao (板橋), Tucheng (土城), Sinjhuang (新莊), Sindian (新店), Linkou (林口) and Sijhih (汐止) districts.
OBike Taiwan general manager Wang Yan-ting (王妍婷) said the company promotes environmentally friendly transportation and does not accept government funding.
Under existing laws, the bikes can be parked in parking spaces, she said, adding that criticizing the company for occupying parking areas is wrong.
Wang questioned the legality of the city government’s ban and said she would consult with lawyers to decide if the company would file an administrative appeal with the Executive Yuan, the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) reported on Sunday.
The company is unlikely to reclaim the towed bikes for the time being, she said.
New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday said that the city might establish parking rules for the bikes and other forms of “green” transportation.
The transportation department said the areas selected for the ban are densely populated and motorcycle and bike parking spaces are at a premium. For-profit rental bike companies are no longer permitted to occupy public parking spaces in these areas, it said, but added that it might add more bicycle parking to encourage “green” transportation.
STILL HOPEFUL: Delayed payment of NT$5.35 billion from an Indian server client sent its earnings plunging last year, but the firm expects a gradual pickup ahead Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 5 PC vendor, yesterday reported an 87 percent slump in net profit for last year, dragged by a massive overdue payment from an Indian cloud service provider. The Indian customer has delayed payment totaling NT$5.35 billion (US$162.7 million), Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told an online earnings conference. Asustek shipped servers to India between April and June last year. The customer told Asustek that it is launching multiple fundraising projects and expected to repay the debt in the short term, Wu said. The Indian customer accounted for less than 10 percent to Asustek’s
‘DECENT RESULTS’: The company said it is confident thanks to an improving world economy and uptakes in new wireless and AI technologies, despite US uncertainty Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it plans to build a new server manufacturing factory in the US this year to address US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy. That would be the second server production base for Pegatron in addition to the existing facilities in Taoyuan, the iPhone assembler said. Servers are one of the new businesses Pegatron has explored in recent years to develop a more balanced product lineup. “We aim to provide our services from a location in the vicinity of our customers,” Pegatron president and chief executive officer Gary Cheng (鄭光治) told an online earnings conference yesterday. “We
LEAK SOURCE? There would be concern over the possibility of tech leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday stayed mum after a report said that the chipmaker has pitched chip designers Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Broadcom Inc about taking a stake in a joint venture to operate Intel Corp’s factories. Industry sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) that the possibility of TSMC proposing to operate Intel’s wafer fabs is low, as the Taiwanese chipmaker has always focused on its core business. There is also concern over possible technology leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺)
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
RSS