S$180,000 in fines collected from enforcement actions against bike-sharing operators

SINGAPORE — The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has collected about S$180,000 in fines and administrative fees as well as issued more than 2,100 removal notices since enforcement actions commenced against Bicycle Sharing Operators (BSOs) last May, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min.

The agency has also impounded 341 rental bicycles, Mr Lam told the Parliament on Monday (Feb 5), as he fielded questions from members of the House about indiscriminate parking.

He added that the LTA will be proposing legislative amendments later this month to put in place a licensing framework for BSOs.

As part of the proposed licensing framework, BSOs will be required to remove indiscriminately parked bicycles on public land within a stipulated time period.

BSOs will also be required to adopt schemes that will disincentivise users for indiscriminate parking, said Dr Lam. This may involve high-accuracy geo-fencing, he added.

Taking supplementary questions from five Members of Parliament (MPs) about the issue, Mr Lam noted that the bike-sharing operators were “not performing up to the desired outcomes the LTA has set out for them”.

Still, he said, there were benefits to be had from the bike-sharing scheme, including the reduction in vehicular emissions and helping to provide transport flexibility.

He also said that LTA meets regularly with the BSOs to discuss operational issues, including the optimal fleet size that will meet the requirements of Singaporeans.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan, the MP for Mountbatten, pressed Dr Lam for his views with regard to imposing fines on users for indiscriminately parking the bicycles.

“If we fine litterbugs for throwing cigarette butts, why shouldn’t we fine bicycle users for throwing their bicycles on the roadsides? Surely these are worse litterers,” Mr Lim said.

“They create such an eyesore for the members of public, (such that) the entire public is put to inconvenience because of indiscriminate littering of bicycles by some inconsiderate users.”

But Dr Lam urged members to give the bike-sharing scheme a chance.

“I (would) just like to remind all members of the House… while there may be interim inconveniences and disamenities… there are actually many benefits of the bike sharing scheme,” he said, adding that some of the disamenities are transient in nature.

Dr Lam also told the House that more details of the proposed legislative amendments will be announced when ready.

Last October, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was inked by five BSOs with the LTA, the National Parks Board, and the 16 town councils, aimed at encouraging responsible bike-sharing behaviour.

As part of the MoU, the operators will have to adopt geo-fencing technologies by the end of 2017. Geo-fencing enables the operators to know whether their bicycles have been parked within designated bicycle parking zones.

Bike-sharing operators must also remove faulty bicycles within half a day, and provide public liability insurance for users.

Despite the various measures, there continues to be feedback from the public regarding indiscriminate parking.

The bike-sharing companies TODAY reached out to mostly declined to reveal figures on the penalties they received since last year, but welcomed the authorities’ support for the bike-sharing scheme.

SG Bike said that about 10 per cent of its total trip rides end up with indiscriminate parking. The company’s spokesperson said the company imposes a fee on users who fail to park their bicycles at its designated stations within a 15-minute grace period, and has been doing so since last December.

Meanwhile, oBike Singapore’s general manager Tim Phang told TODAY that its geofencing feature will start in May, after a six-month trial.

Mobike is also gradually rolling out its geofencing technology, and will “continue to share data collected…and key learning points with (the) LTA”, said Mobike Singapore’s country manager Sharon Meng.