When bike-sharing services were first introduced onto our shores, I’m sure nobody would have predicted its wide usage like it is today.

Nowadays, it’s quite difficult to walk along a pedestrian path without having to worry about any bicycles passing through.

I mean, it’s not a bad thing. People are getting healthier, you know.

And it’s always good to have the habit of walking on one side of the path, instead of the middle.

But time and again, we get reminded why Singaporeans just can’t appreciate nice things.

Take a look at these:

Enough said.

About the new Bill

The Ministry of Transport has amended the Parking Places Bill yesterday (March 5) in Parliament to curb issues like this:

The new Parking Places (Amendment) Bill mainly impacts bike-sharing services.

It will require mobility sharing operators to have a licence before operating here, according to Channel NewsAsia.

This applies to owners of bicycles, personal mobility devices, and power-assisted bicycles.

As for now, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is starting with the bike-sharing companies.

Licence applications will commence from the middle of the year, and will be ready by the end of the year.

Whereas for PMD or PAB sharing services, the applications will only begin next year, but they will still be allowed to operate on private land in the meantime.

So…what can we expect from this new licensing?

1.Controlled number of bicycles

The new Bill will control the number of bicycles that each operator can deploy, preventing them from flooding the market with their service.

The reason behind this is the fact that out of 100,000 shared bikes in Singapore, only half of it is used.

By having lesser number of bicycles to take care of, these operators will (supposedly) be more motivated to ensure that their bikes are in tip-top condition and are maximised fully.

Cos they have to keep the money coming in, yo.

Of course, there must be something to entice the operators.

If they follow the rules accordingly, such as clearing their “indiscriminately-placed” bikes and fixing faulty ones, then they will be allowed to increase their fleet, after LTA conduct some reviews.

On the other hand, fines of up to S$100,000 will be sent to those who ignore the Bill.

The operators will also be suspended and have to cease operations.

The answer is pretty simple. You either do it, or you don’t.

2.Tougher restrictions on operators

The Bill will require operators to impose a ban on users who constantly bochap and park anywhere they want.

Operators will have to develop their geofencing technology such that it captures the boundaries of a parking space.

One way this is gonna work is by having unique QR codes at each allocated bike-sharing parking space.

Users will have to scan the QR code (at the parking space, not on the bike) before they can end their trip.

If not, you’ll just keep on paying.

This idea will be fully implemented at all shared-bike parking spaces by the middle of the year.

And if this bad conduct continues, then the user will be banned from all bike-sharing services, not just from the one he/she used.

The same penalty as the point above will be in place for operators who fail to make any changes to their regulations.

Additionally, their numbers of bicycles may be reduced.

3.Collection of data

LTA will also require a set of data from operators:

• the number of bicycles deployed
• specific location of each bicycle at any point in time
• the frequency of each bicycle’s usage, and where they went
• user profile information for companies to coordinate with each other

If the numbers were found to be inaccurate or incomplete, a fine of up to $10,000 is chargeable.

Now we know how serious LTA is.

Actually, the bike operators were already told to have these regulations in place.

When they signed the Memorandum of Understanding with LTA, they were well aware of the need for all these rules.

But as you can see, not much enforcement are in place as of today.

This is what happens when you dig your own hole and jump in head-first.

Nobody can save you.

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

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Featured image: The Straits Times