June 25, 2018, 05:35 PM 
The news of oBike's sudden closure left users scrambling to find out the status of their memberships and/or deposits.
oBike no longer on GrabCycle
In their announcement pushed to some users' app interfaces, the company referred their current customers to GrabCycle, should they want to use oBike's services in Singapore:
"For users who still wish to use oBike services in Singapore can continue to do so with GrabCycle, which is a partner of oBike. Users are advised to contact GrabCycle directly for further enquiries regarding the respective oBike services."
However, mere hours later, it turns out that GrabCycle will no longer have oBikes on its platform.
In a statement shared with Mothership, it explained the situation and its impact on them:
"This means that we will no longer be able to offer oBike’s bicycles on the GrabCycle marketplace effective today, as oBike will not have the appropriate bike-sharing license to operate in Singapore, nor will they be maintaining their fleet of bicycles."
This is quite a problem for them because apart from oBike, the only other bicycle company on board GrabCycle's platform is a local but highly obscure one called Anywheel:
[related_story]It says it is "homegrown", like oBike, but it's so new that its Facebook page has slightly more than 100 likes, its Instagram account has only two posts and its website URL directs to a parked GoDaddy page:
And that's why Grab, in an announcement on their website, says they have halted sign-ups temporarily to "preserve the experience for existing users":
"We are actively bringing on more bikes onto our platform and will open up for new user sign up soon. Check back for updates."
In an attempt to remediate the situation, however, GrabCycle says it will waive active subscription fees and refund deposits for users on its platform.
The refunds (from Grab, not oBike), they say, will be sent through by June 26, and will reflect in users' accounts once their various payment modes and banks have processed them.
Grab also said GrabCycle users will receive S$3 off their next Grab ride from June 25 to July 8.
Meanwhile, to encourage users to utilise Anywheels bicycles on their platform, Grab said it added a four-week GrabCycle subscription to current users' accounts for free.
Not so bad, but as we mentioned, it is quite difficult to find Anywheel bicycles in Singapore as compared to oBikes.
Sad.
Here's Grab's full statement:
"You may have heard that oBike is shutting down in Singapore. So as of today, oBikes will no longer be available on our platform.
We understand this may impact your GrabCycle experience. Therefore, we will be waiving your active subscription fee, and refunding your GrabCycle deposit, if any by 26th June. We will also add a complimentary 4-week GrabCycle subscription to your account to try our newest partner, Anywheel.
And for your next Grab ride*, enjoy $3 off from us. Just use the promo code GCY2018 (valid for GrabPay rides only) from 25th June - 8th July.
We remain committed to serving and growing bike-sharing in Singapore, and are working to get more bikes soon on our platform. Stay tuned for more!"
You can read GrabCycle's FAQ here.
Top image screenshot via GrabCycle
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.