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Currently, there are three bike-sharing operators in Singapore — oBike, Mobike and ofo

Mobike’s bicycles

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore has withdrawn plans to introduce a national bike-sharing scheme.

The scheme, which called for tenders for an operator and sponsorship consultant, attracted 13 bids from both local and foreign bike-sharing operators last year. One of them was Foxconn-backed Mobike.

The scheme was set to launch a pilot of 1,000 bicycles and 100 docking stations at the Jurong Lake District by the end of 2017. Marina Bay/City Centre, Tampines and Pasir Ris would have joined the programme, potentially bringing the total of bicycles and docking stations to 2,300 and 300 respectively.

“The ongoing plans by the private dockless bicycle-sharing system operators have obviated the need for a government-run system backed by government grants. The price proposals submitted by all 13 participants of the tender will be returned,” said an official LTA statement.

LTA added that it will continue monitoring the situation and introduce new plans if necessary.

Also Read: “Anything can happen”: Ofo and Mobike investors talk about bike-rental war

In an interview with Florian Bohnert, Head of International Expansion at Mobike, during Mobike’s official launch last Tuesday, he said that it will work closely with relevant government bodies, such as NPARKS and LTA, to ensure that responsible bike-sharing operations were carried out.

Mobike also built its Singapore bikes to fit Singapore’s regulatory framework. This included ensuring that that bicycle reflectors were built and installed as per LTA requirements.

He also added that Mobike had put a LTA tender that was compliant to its requirements.

Besides Mobike, there are other two other bike-sharing services, ofo and oBike.

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Image Credit: Mobike

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