Possible PMD-Sharing Operator, Scootbee, Has Self-Driving E-Scooters That Self-Drive to Your Location

Singaporeans don’t exactly have a good opinion of bike-sharing firms.

Plus, Singaporeans don’t really like e-scooters too.

But what if you were to add them together?

True, it might not be math where two negatives make a positive, but seven e-scooter sharing firms are pretty optimistic about their chances in the Singapore market.

Seven PMD-Sharing Firms Bidding For LTA License

On 4 Jan 2019, the Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) opened up a round of bidding for bike-sharing and device-sharing (Personal Mobility Devices; PMD) licenses.

The device-sharing license is a sandbox license where each operator is limited to at least 200 to a maximum of 500 devices in their fleet.

Results for the winners will be announced in the second quarter of this year.

Seven operators are interested in applying for the licenses, and you’ll see some familiar names.

They include:

• US-Based Lime (valued at S$1.49 billion) and operating in more than 125 markets globally
• Grab which ditched bike-sharing to focus on PMD-sharing
• Singapore-based Beam which raised US$6.4 million in 2018
• Telepod
• Anywheel
• Scootbee

And They’re Confident They Won’t Go The Way of Bike-Sharing Firms

Like a wise old man once said, winners learn from history. Losers simply never learn.

And these seven operators believe that PMD-sharing is the way to go for first-mile-last-mile services.

The e-scooter technology, the firms said, will give them greater control over the devices.

For example, Neuron Mobility can switch their PMDs on and off in real time.

They’re also looking at offering incentives to users to return stray e-scooters to designated parking spots.

“At any given time, I will know where the scooter is, how fast it is travelling and who is using it”

Scootbee: We Have a Self-Driving E-Scooter

But there’s one noteworthy mention among the seven PMD-sharing firms.

Scootbee.

Because they’ve got a technologically-driven solution to the parking problem in Singapore.

They’ve got a self-driving e-scooter.

Here’s how it works:

First, just like Grab, you use the app and select the location to meet your ride.

Then, watch your personal e-scooter self-drive its way to the specified location on the real-time map.

It’ll give you a ring when it arrives.

Then, it’ll switch to manual control.

And you can go wild and free on it.

The best part? Their devices can allegedly park themselves too.

Here’s a video of how their e-scooter works.

Doesn’t it move like R2D2?

They’re currently looking for beta testers to join their programme.

So if you want to give it a shot, you can check out their website here.

What do you think of PMD-sharing? Is it doomed to go the way of bike-sharing, or will Singaporeans appreciate nice things now?

Let us know!