[razzaj]

"charged customers 19 yuan ($2.90 USD) per umbrella deposit and an additional half yuan ($0.07 USD) per 30 minutes"

So customers holding on to their umbrellas are bring charged 3.36$/day? I've paid that much to buy umbrellas in london on rainy days. How is that not an incentive to return it? Or are the umbrellas just being stollen from the rails?

[tomtang0514]

I think that's exactly the case. From the picture there seems to be a mechanical password lock on the umbrellas. I guess how it works is: You can the QR code -> pay thru app -> received password, input the password on umbrella -> unlock umbrella. But since it's mechanical lock, I assume the password doesn't change every time. Then whoever returns the umbrella knows the password and can just take it away directly. The company can't prove they steal it.

[Bakary]

This is exactly what happened to a lot of ofo bikes. They then scratch off the serial number and qr code so that no one else can use it.

[cakedoggie]

The $2.90 is a deposit though right? So it is returned?