A new
service is going to make bicycle-sharing much easier in
Singapore
Bicycle sharing seems like a great idea, only if you happen to live
near a docking station. The LTA announced earlier this year that
they'll be launching a
pilot that will see 1,000 bicycles for public use
across 100 docking stations that are within walking distance from
one another around the Jurong Lake District starting next year. But
we're going to see more than just that: Chinese
start-up MoBike is planning
to expand their new, revolutionary their stationless bicycle-sharing
service to Singapore (we're the first destination
outside of China) from next year.
The idea is simple: instead of renting or returning the bike
at a docking station, you can do so at pretty much any public
bicycle parking space. All you need to do to start putting the
pedal to the metal is to look for nearby bicycles through an app,
and then unlock it by scanning a QR code. MoBike uses its own
fleet of bicycles and has a rear-wheel lock so you don't have to
bring around a chain-lock of sorts. Besides, they're all tracked
via GPS at all times. Mobike also claims that these
bikes don't need much
maintenance as they're made using aluminium, have
airless tires and are recharged as the rider pedals. They use
a crank-and-shaft system with a concealed drivetrain (making them
more weather resistant too), so you don't have to worry about
chains falling off.
The pilot is slated to take off next year at universities and
polytechnics, though there aren't any concrete dates or venues
yet. The price to rent a bike has not been revealed either,
but in China, it costs only 1 RMB ($0.20) per half an hour with a
deposit of 299 RMB ($44). We're staying cautiously excited but this
is definitely the right step to make Singapore a little more car
lite.
source