Bike sharer oBike pulls out of Melbourne after constant vandalism

The yellow oBikes of Melbourne have been a running joke for the good part of a year. On social media they've been seen in trees, rivers, on statues and generally everywhere except for the sidewalks where they're intended to be.

But no more, as oBike is pulling out of Melbourne, according to the city's lord mayor, Sally Capp. 

"oBikes have decided to withdraw from our market here in Melbourne, and we are working very closely with them to remove oBikes from the city streets," she said to local press. "We recommend from this point that all people should stop using oBikes."

No official reason was given, although it follows the Environmental Protection Agency's new decree that oBike would be fined AU$3,000 for every vandalised, damaged or ill-placed bike it failed to retrieve.

oBike, a Singaporean company, first launched in Melbourne last June. Commuters are able to pay via a Android or iOS app to use the bikes, after which they're meant to return them to a safe and sensible location, like a sidewalk for instance. This was not to be, as photographing oBikes lodged in unlikely places became something of a social media trend.

"I think what's made it very difficult for everybody involved is the behaviour of people using the oBikes, [it's] really added a degree of difficulty to the way these issues have played out," she said.