Bike-sharing operator Anywheel gets green light to expand fleet size, Moov enters market

SINGAPORE — Cyclists will have more choices of shared bicycles to ride on, after the Land Transport Authority (LTA) gave in-principle approval to two companies to operate bike-sharing services in public places.

Anywheel, a company that already operates with a sandbox licence of up to 1,000 bicycles, will be given a full licence that allows it to increase its fleet to a maximum of 10,000 bikes, the LTA said on Wednesday (April 3).

New entrant Moov Technology will be granted a sandbox licence for up to 1,000 bicycles.

A third applicant, Ywise Circle, was unsuccessful as it did not meet LTA’s evaluation criteria.

Such evaluation criteria take into consideration “the applicant’s proposal to manage indiscriminate parking, fleet utilisation, its financial strength and track record”, explained LTA.

Operators who have been granted sandbox and full licences will be allowed to operate in public places for one year and two years, respectively.

LTA will impose conditions, including the maximum fleet size that each licensee is allowed to deploy. They must also meet other requirements such as implementing a quick response (QR) code parking system to ensure users park within designated parking areas.

“This seeks to ensure that licensees operate responsibly and do not create disamenities in providing their services,” said LTA.

The authority regularly reviews fleet sizes so that the population of shared bicycles can support user demand, and licensed operators can submit applications to expand their fleet sizes twice a year — in January and July.

LTA MAY CANCEL OFO’S LICENCE

On Wednesday, LTA also issued a notice of intention to cancel embattled operator Ofo’s licence, after it failed to comply with regulatory requirements, even after a deadline extension.

LTA first suspended Ofo’s licence on Feb 14 and the operator was required to remove all bicycles from public places by March 13.

After Ofo informed LTA that it was in advanced stages of negotiations to partner another party to resume operations and fulfil licence conditions, the authority extended the deadline to March 28.

But Ofo has still not complied, said LTA. Ofo now has up to 14 days to make written representations to LTA, or its licence will be cancelled.