[masteryupa_]

Purely conjecture here as I'm not sure on the specifics of the rental system but surely there is some measure of accountability in operation?

I was under the impression that by scanning a qr code it registered the rental to your account, hence discouraging bad actor behaviour with the potential punishments for discarding or hoarding a bicycle that those actions would incur in fines etc.

If not, how difficult could this type of measure be to implement?

[jmknoll]

Regarding the bikes being kept for personal use, its a quirk of the way one of the bike-sharing systems worked. Ofo, one of the biggest players, didn't have any sort of GPS system on the bikes. Rather, each bike has a license plate with a numerical code, which, when put into an app, gives you a number for a padlock which will unlock the bike. Now, the number in the padlock doesn't change, so people quickly figured out that they could write down the code for the padlock, rip the license plate off the bike (or scratch off the number), and then no one else can use their bike.

I believe this company has added GPS tracking to the bikes now, but this was a pad enough product design flaw that it should have rendered this company incapable of making money. I haven't seen any numbers from them, but I would be extremely surprised to see them bringing in any significant revenue, nonetheless profits.

I haven't downloaded their app, but I've used their bikes a number of times, as they're currently littering the sidewalks of Shanghai, many with their locking mechanisms ripped off or permanently opened.

Nonetheless, this company was valued north of $1 Billion as of their last fundraising round.

Feels pretty bubble-ish to me.

[jdmichal]

Can you detect the difference between no one else renting the bike vs one person hoarding it in some way? If you can't, then it only takes a couple stories in the news of some innocent being charged fines to generate ill will.

[dilemma]

Yes, you need to submit a photo of yourself along with your ID when you register an account. And bikes can be traced so there is accountability.