GoBee Bike quits Brussels after three months due to vandalism

Bike-sharing scheme GoBee Bike is quitting Brussels with immediate effect - after just three months - because of vandalism.

The app-based service, which originated in Hong Kong, introduced 200 bright green bikes to Brussels last October.

"The damage to our fleet has reached limits that we can not overcome," Gobee.bike said in an email to users. "We've had to face the sad reality that our vision of mobility was not shared by a determined minority, and we can not keep up the cost of repairs."

The bikes did not use docking stations - and users located their nearest using a GPS smartphone app. However, many users reported finding bikes in a bad condition, abandoned anywhere on the street or - in some cases - kept behind locked doors.

Gobee.bike launched in Brussels around the same time as two rivals: Singapore-based oBike and the electric hire scheme Billy Bike.

Brussels mobility minister Pascal Smet announced new regulations for "free-floating" bike hire schemes last month, including an obligation for service-providers to remove badly parked and damaged bikes within 24 hours.