China's Mobike suspends operation in UK city over vandalism

London : China's bike-sharing firm Mobike has said it is pulling out of Manchester this week after losing 10 per cent of its bicycles each month due to theft and vandalism.

It has already started removing the bicycles and will transfer them to London, Oxford, Cambridge and Newcastle, where it will continue to operate.

According to a statement by Mobike on Wednesday, the company suffered "unsustainable" losses as too many of its bikes have been stolen, dumped in canals and bins, had locks hacked off, or been set on fire, Xinhua news agency reported.

Customers in Manchester should have their deposits and credit refunded in the next few days, the company added.

Two weeks ago Mobike warned that if the users in Manchester kept destroying the bikes the service would be withdrawn.

In June 2017, Manchester became Mobike's first launch outside Asia. It is also the first city to lose its Mobike privileges due to antisocial behavior, according to Steve Milton, Mobike's UK spokesman.