Electric car-sharing service BlueSG hits 1 million rentals despite ‘dip’ during circuit breaker

SINGAPORE — Almost three years after it first launched in Singapore, electric car-sharing service BlueSG announced on Monday (Aug 10) that it has recorded its one millionth rental and sold more than 80,000 subscriptions.

This is despite a “dip” during the circuit breaker period from April to June.

TODAY previously reported that demand for most car-sharing services, including BlueSG’s, had surged after restrictions were lifted on June 2.

BlueSG, which launched in December 2017 as Singapore’s first large-scale electric car-sharing scheme, now has 667 cars and 345 stations with 1,371 charging points islandwide, the company said in a statement. 

This includes public housing estates, shopping malls and Sentosa.

There was “strong growth” in both membership sales and rentals during Phases 1 and 2 of Singapore’s reopening, BlueSG said.

Users are charged according to how long they use a car, instead of the distance travelled.

They can choose between two subscription plans: A “premium” six-month membership plan priced at S$18 a month that includes 45 minutes of free rental every month, or a “basic” monthly membership plan at S$8 per month.

Both plans also comprise a rental rate of 33 cents a minute.

Besides that, BlueSG members can choose between two rental packages — a three-hour one for S$39.90 or a five-hour one for S$49.90. 

These prices, reduced from S$59.40 and S$99 respectively, will be available till the end of September.

BlueSG — a subsidiary of French transportation firm Bollore Group — now gets almost 100,000 rentals and 4,000 subscriptions every month, said BlueSG’s managing director Franck Vitte.

Mr Vitte added that surveys show that its users mostly use the service occasionally “as a complement to public transport, which was the initial objective”.

Under an agreement between the Bollore Group and Singapore, BlueSG eventually plans to put 1,000 electric cars on the road and have 500 stations with 2,000 charging points.