Dockless bicycles are going to be a thing of the past soon.
Or at least, the rationale of dockless bicycles.
Government Decided That Dockless Bicycles Are Better
Back when the government decide to scrap their own plans for a bike-sharing national programme, one of the reasons given was that private companies had better technology.
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The government was planning to offer dock-shared bicycles but companies like ofo were going for dockless bicycles.
Which helps to increase convenience for the people.
Unfortunately, when the dream came to fruition, things didn’t pan out like what they’ve expected.
Instead of a country of good, well-behaved citizens, you get scenes like these instead.
And people doing stuff like
Yup.
So they came up with a new licensing regime for shared-bicycle firms because they felt they didn’t regulate their own services enough.
And decide to play hardball with Singaporeans as well.
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From 14 Jan 2019, New Shared-Bicycle Rules Comes Into Effect For Customers
On 27 Dec, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) decide to hit Singaporeans where it hurts the most.
Their wallets.
From 14 Jan 2019 onwards, users will have to scan an additional QR code when parking their bicycles.
If they don’t, they’ll have to pay $5 on top of whatever they paid for renting the bicycle.
The QR codes will be found at all public bicycle parking areas. These include yellow boxes (nope, not smoking corner, guys) and bicycle parking racks.
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The number of public bicycle parking areas number at 211,000 across the whole of Singapore but they’re expecting it to increase to 267,000 by the year 2020.
Now, what if the QR code doesn’t work?
You can just send a photo as “evidence” to the bike-sharing operators and they’ll waive the $5 off for you.
Prompts will also be sent to your app if it detects you parking outside of designated areas.
Users Who Park Indiscriminately Repeatedly Will Be Banned Too
There are some people who feel that an additional $5 isn’t that painful. I mean, my boss thinks an extra $5 charge for late payment of a mobile phone bill is pretty okay.
If users are recorded as having anyhowly parked their shared-bicycles three times or more within a year, they’ll be banned for a month.
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And the ban increases with every subsequent ban:
- First Ban: 1 month
- Second Ban: 3 months
- Third Ban: 6 months
- Subsequent Bans: 1 year
“This is part of the new bicycle-sharing licensing regime to encourage responsible parking habits and manage the disamenities brought about by indiscriminate parking of shared bicycles.”
SG Bike and Anywheel have already deployed a pilot version of the QR code scanning feature on their apps.
During this period, users can get used to the process without the additional $5 charge.
Today, SG Bike and Anywheel will roll out a pilot version of the QR code scanning feature on their apps to allow users to familiarise themselves with the process. There will be no additional $5 charge during this beta period.
Well, for ofo? Haven’t you been reading the other articles in our app?
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So Dockless Bicycles Essentially Becomes Docked Bicycles
And that’s how the story probably ends. For now.
Because if you think about it, riding a dockless bicycle but having to park it at a designated area, what’s the difference between that and a dock where you have to return your bicycle to?
Although the authorities had assured Singaporeans a couple of months back that even if this comes into play, it’ll still be convenient for users as there’ll usually be a parking space near where you work or stay.
But hey, look on the flip side, you now know where to go to look for a shared-bicycle, instead of playing Pokemon-GO with them.
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