Mobike bosses have issued a final plea for Manchester’s minority to stop stealing and vandalising their bikes - or face losing the scheme ‘within weeks’.

The pay-to-ride service is now in 200 cities in 19 countries across the world, but sadly we are the first where the firm has had to make such a drastic ultimatum.

It comes just a year after Manchester first became home to the bike sharing scheme, which allows users to pay to use bikes to make short trips across the city.

Aimed at reducing congestion and pollution and promoting good health at no expense to the taxpayer, the bikes have been on 250,000 trips covering more than 180,000 miles.

(Image: April Preston)

Most people have always used the bikes responsibly and initially the firm said it had leeway in its business plan to allow for loss.

But in the months following the roll-out, the M.E.N. was flooded with pictures of bikes up trees, on lamp posts, repainted, damaged - or even flung in the canal.

And the problem has not abated. In July 2018 alone, 10 per cent of the fleet was stolen or vandalised.

The high crime rate - the worst in the firm’s history - means just a year after launch, Mobike is struggling to cover its costs.

Now, the firm is telling residents to ‘use but not abuse’ the bikes - or suffer the consequences of prosecution, fines, and even the withdrawal of the bikes all together.

With the support of police, the council and transport bosses, Mobike are actively pursuing civil prosecutions against those who steal or damage bikes.

Warning the possibility of an end to Mobike in Manchester was not an ‘idle threat’, a spokesman said they were also facing problems with users taking the bikes home and parking them privately.

This flouts the strict guidelines on the bikes always being returned to a ‘parking zone’ at the end of journeys - or face a £20 fine.

Residents are also encouraged to report incidents of Mobike theft and vandalism.

Jan Van der Ven, Mobike’s UK general manager said: “As a private business, we are only viable if our revenues cover our costs, and that is not possible with the current levels of bike loss in Manchester.

“For that reason, we have sat down with representatives from Manchester council, Greater Manchester Police and TfGM, and have agreed a range of measures to help protect our bikes.”

Chris Boardman, appointed by the region’s mayor Andy Burnham as the city’s cycling tsar, said the behaviour of the minority was a ‘real shame’.

He said issues were not unique to Greater Manchester but that his ‘Beelines’ plan to create cycle lanes across the region needed the hire scheme to succeed.

Chief Superintendent Wasim Chaudhry said police would investigate reports of theft an vandalism made to them and hold criminals to account.

Offering his support, Stephen Rhodes from TfGM said more cycling was a key way to make Greater Manchester healthier and more sustainable - and that bike sharing was a key way of achieving this.

He added: “So it’s sad to hear that, despite the popularity of Mobike in Manchester, a number of people are abusing the service.”

You can report thefts and vandalism on the Mobike app or by emailing customer service on support.uk@mobike.com.

If the crime has already happened Mobike will report it to police. Witnesses to a crime are asked to report it to police immediately.