NATIONAL DAY SPECIAL 2018: It’s OK not to be first — SG Bike co-founder

SINGAPORE — When SG Bike rolled out its bicycle sharing services in August last year, it was already late to the game, being the fifth operator to enter the local market after oBike, ofo, Mobike and GBikes.

To differentiate itself from its competitors, it allowed users without access to smartphones to set up accounts with their EZ-Link or Nets Flashpay cards, and use those registered cards to unlock the bikes. The local start-up also tapped on Geostation technology to deter indiscriminate parking.

From rolling out its first fleet of 200 red-and-white bikes in Bukit Panjang town in August 2017, SG Bike today runs a fleet of 2,500 shared bikes in the northern and eastern part of the island.

The only local bike-sharing company in operation run by born and bred Singaporeans, SG Bike is one of four operators — along with Mobike, GBikes and ofo— which submitted an application to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for a full licence to operate dockless bicycle rental services. GBikes, however, has since ceased operation.

The journey to get here, however, has been more than 10 years in the making, SG Bike co-founder and chief operating officer Sean Tay, 26, told TODAY.

OVERCOMING SETBACKS

As far back as 2008, Mr Tay said his father, Mr Andy Tay, wanted to set up bike-sharing services in the Republic. The 60-year-old was inspired to do so after learning that the European countries had started such services. In addition, as someone who believed in continuously investing in his facilities and infrastructure, he saw the potential in tapping on technology to change the way people rent bicycles.

His company, Cosco Recreation, runs about 10 bicycle rental kiosks under different banners in East Coast and Pasir Ris Parks. Having been in the business for about 30 years, he saw the business opportunity and wanted first-mover advantage.

But he failed to bring his vision to fruition back then, having met one obstacle after another, his son said.

Fast forward to July 2016, the LTA called a tender for a government-funded bike-sharing operator to build, own, operate and maintain the system with 100 docking stations to be set up in the Jurong Lake District. His father leapt at the opportunity to realise his dream, said Mr Tay.

Then, the elder Tay roped in his son, a final year Physics student at the National University of Singapore (NUS), to help with the proposal, as he had been helping out part-time with the family business.

Mr Tay told TODAY he researched what was available in the market, and even went on a field trip to Shanghai, China to study the various technologies available.

“In Shanghai in 2016, Mobike was already there, and quite big already. They were using the (dockless) smart lock (system) … we felt that it is very revolutionary and thought that it would be the next big thing … but the LTA specifically said they wanted docking stations. So we just proposed what they wanted and did not mention the 'irrelevant' (dockless idea) to them,” Mr Tay told TODAY.

But early 2017, oBike rode into town with its dockless bike-sharing services, followed by ofo, Mobike and GBikes. And in March 2017, the LTA called off its tender, even though it received 13 bids from both foreign and local operators for the government-funded bike-sharing system.

That was a big setback for Mr Tay and his father. “Of course it sucked,” Mr Tay said pithily. Not only were their plans to start their own bike-sharing services scuppered, but their business of renting bicycles to events, after their bicycles kiosks closed down due to land redevelopment, also fell by as much as 30 per cent.

But instead of being discouraged, he went back to the drawing board to customise a lock system and Geostation technology before finally setting up SG Bike under a joint venture with estate upgrading and town improvement company ISOTeam.

On hindsight, he said without the ill-fated LTA failed tender, he would not have started on the process of researching the market, and through that, been inspired to go on this new journey.

HOMEGROUND ADVANTAGE

Being a local start-up has its advantage, said Mr Tay. Unlike the foreign operators, they knew what makes Singaporeans and the Government tick.

For instance, he told TODAY he knew from the start that indiscriminate parking would become an issue here, and the dockless business model will not be sustainable without effective measures to curb it.

So SG Bike uses the Geostation technology, which requires users to park and pick up their bikes at designated parking areas, to track its bikes. Alarms will go off on the bikes that are improperly parked, and users will get an app alert to park it properly. If they fail to do so within 15 minutes, they will be fined S$1. There will be heavier penalties meted out for more severe misuse, such as throwing the bicycles into drains or left on roads.

Also, understanding that not all Singaporeans are tech-savvy, they designed a lock system which accepts other forms of payment, such as EZ-Link card or Nets Flashpay registered with an SG Bike account. This allows the elderly and other users without access to smartphones to still access their bikes.

“These concepts really came from the roots of what we know of the industry and the culture. We are Singaporeans, I don't think it is hard to understand, at least on the surface, what the Government is like, their vision and culture.

“Also looking at Stomp and Facebook … and based on our 30 years’ experience, we know how ridiculous (some) Singaporeans are,” he shared.

But they opted not to implement a deposit scheme because, based on their experience of renting out bikes for 30 years, the overall rate of theft or damage is low.

While starting SG Bike is an exhilarating experience, Mr Tay said he has had to pay a price. As the whole process of preparing for the LTA tender came just before his final year at NUS, his studies suffered. In the end, he extended his studies for one semester, and he graduated only in late 2017.

Although it was not his initial intention to go into the family business, he has taken a leaf from his father’s book to “grab opportunity when it comes”.

Mr Tay describes SG Bike as a “gift” from his father to him, and he wants to use it as a platform to learn and thrive. And his father still continues to contribute good ideas, for example, he was the one who mooted installing baby seats on some of their bikes, which has proved popular.

Moving forward, he said that the most important thing now is to get the bike-sharing license from LTA.

“This platform is not only for (my) personal growth, but a chance to shape the whole industry for the future of Singapore,” Mr Tay said.

“Just the thought itself motivates me everyday. I am really looking forward to 2030, what SG Bike can create in this 10 years, how we can influence and help government to shape the industry that we believe is best for Singaporeans."

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