Lifestyle

10 Facts About Bike-sharing in S’pore That S’poreans Should Be Aware Of

Boon Hun

2018-03-23 , 2:22 pm

Bike-sharing is making the headlines again in Singapore.

But at least this time, it’s for the right reason.

The government is playing hardball with both bike-sharing companies like ofo and obike, and the users themselves.

Here are 10 facts about bike-sharing in Singapore, and why not every Singaporean is happy with it.

The Bike-Sharing Scheme Was Proposed By The Govt in 2014

In case you forgot, the bike-sharing scheme was a thing back in 2014.

The Singapore government announced that they’re looking to put in place 2,300 bicycles for sharing on the streets to encourage lesser car usage.

Together with 97 docking stations.

Then, they did a u-turn and scrapped the entire idea because private bike-sharing firms started setting up shop here on our sunny island.

And to make it better, these are dockless bicycles.

Unfortunately, this didn’t work out the way they’ve expected it to.

Bike-Sharing Operators Are Like Uber on Two Wheels

No, they’re not like Uber because they have wheels. It’s because they’re killing off the traditional model.

What traditional model?! You may ask. Well, you know those bicycle rental shops along East Coast Park?

Yes, those models.

Compared to a $0.50 for half an hour ride and $7 for an hour’s ride, which will you prefer?

Add in the fact that said stalls have to pay rental every month while bike-sharing companies use public bike parking spaces and you know they’ll lose in a price war.

Bike-Sharing Brings Out Ugly Side Of S’pore, But Operators Don’t Care

When bike-sharing companies hit the streets, the ugly side of Singaporeans was revealed. Even uglier than usual, that is.

You have bicycles thrown down HDB blocks

Thrown into canal

And just being inconsiderate asses in general.

Given how their assets are being destroyed on a daily basis, you’ll expect the bike-sharing companies to start putting in regulations to curb the abuse of shared bikes, don’t you?

Nope, they didn’t.

In fact, according to ofo, the Chinese bike-sharing company that arguably got it the worst when it comes to bike abuse…

The vandalising and stealing of their bikes only constitute a small part of their operations.

Operators Actually Given Only One Day To Collect Faulty Bicycles

But they didn’t.

Shared-bicycle operators are required to remove faulty bicycles from the streets within 24 hours, but people are still seeing faulty bicycles everywhere.

“I don’t really use shared bikes anymore as there are so many faulty ones. Sometimes when I scan the bikes, I’m not even able to unlock them,” a user, Mr Mohamad Shah said to the Straits Times.

The next time you come across any shared bicycles, see if you can spot any faulty ones.

The Government Had To Step In To Regulate The Industry

Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min said that bike-sharing operators worsen the problem of indiscriminate parking.

Because they were so focused on growing market share, they grew their fleet of bicycles too quickly.

Kind of common sense, because corporates are all about profits, right?

But finally, the government cannot take it anymore.

Because when bicycles are parked everywhere without a care, it’s the residents who are affected.

So on 20 Mar, new rules were passed in parliament for bike-sharing in Singapore.

How the new rules affect bike-sharing operators

For operators (read: ofo, obike, etc), they have to apply for a license under the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

LTA will regulate the number of bicycles each operator can have and they have to pay a license fee every year.

How many bicycles each operator can put on the streets depends on how well they can control indiscriminate parking

And how their bicycles are used.

LTA will also specify how long bike operators have to move illegally-parked bicycles.

What happens if bike operators refused to listen?

Now here’s the hardball part. What happens if bike operators don’t perform to standards?

LTA will be able to imposed penalties like reducing the number of bicycles the operator can have, or fines up to $100,000 for each time they didn’t comply.

They could also cancel or suspend the operator’s license.

The new rules affect bike-sharing users too

Bike-sharing users, don’t assume you’re off the hook.

LTA plans to set industry standards like the use of geofencing technology.

Geofencing refers to the ability to create a virtual boundary using GPS or RFID technology. With this, users who do not park their bicycles at the designated area will not be able to close the session on their app.

This means that users might be continuously charged for the session.

Also, repeated offenders caught more than 3 times anyhow-ly parking their bicycles will be banned from renting bicycles temporarily (!!!).

Bike-sharing operators are also expected to share information on these inconsiderate people with the authorities.

There’s a bicycle patrol group going around Singapore cleaning up shared-bicycles

Image: Volunteer Bike Patrol Facebook Page

In case you’re unaware, the shared-bicycle situation in Singapore could have been worse if not for these unsung heroes.

Bike Volunteer Patrol, also known as the shared bike police, retrieve damaged shared bikes (using rented lorry) scattered at various public places around Singapore and bring them to designated locations for the bike companies to collect the bicycles.

And the group also patrol the neighbourhoods.

Members of the group go around their own neighbourhood and move indiscriminately parked shared bikes to designated areas.

Also, the volunteers also observe and report about the following while they are patrolling the streets:

any obvious security and safety related issues, like suspicious persons, objects etc.
cleanliness (dirty public areas, overflowing litter bins)
damaged road signs
faulty streetlights
dumping in common areas cases
abandoned trolleys (Cold Storage, FairPrice, Giant, Mustafa Center, ShengSiong and others)
fallen trees/ branches
Park lighting maintenance
Park facilities maintenance
common area maintenance
choked drains
animal issues, etc.

And they work for free.

Not all heroes wear capes, huh?

Don’t worry, we’re not the worst

If you think what Singaporeans are doing is bad, and find it embarrassing, don’t be.

Because other countries have it bad as well.

Mobike’s bicycles in Manchester were found in bins, the back of gardens and even in the canal. Wah, they are way more disruptive disposers of bikes than we are here.

The locals had even found a way to disable the tracking system and destroy its back-wheel locks.

A Chinese firm called Wukong bikes literally shut down after 90% of its 1,200 bicycles were stolen.

And Hong Kong’s rented bikes are actually occupying car park lots in the country, prompting calls for regulation.

But still, it’ll be nice if our bicycle-sharing situation improves.

How many of you agree that it will turn out better with the new rules?

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com