Farewell Mobike

Was that the death knell for cycling?

About three years ago, there was a seemingly ‘overnight’ explosion of share bikes across the city of Singapore. Offering easy registration and low cost, the bicycles suddenly proliferated across all areas of the city in a number that was simply staggering, upwards of a 100,000. The bright orange cycles were only one of a number of branded operators providing tens of thousands of bikes at stations, roadsides, pathways, parks, housing estates, suburbs, commercial areas and even the city centre.

Hundreds of people could be seen using the bikes, riding in all kinds of manner, on road and off, journeys long and short. This urban phenomena quickly gained social comment, and the attention of the media.

Then just as quickly the operators seemed to disappear. One by one, the bikes were first abandoned, then left derelict, and finally most of the schemes seemed to vanish altogether. After little more than a year the new mobility sensation appeared to be all over!

The disappearing bicycles?

Singapore is one of the most densely populated and advancing cities in Asia, and perhaps one of a number of prime growth initiators of the region for ‘smart city’ approaches. So city transportation, congestion, pollution and alternative forms of mobility planning, operation and management are hot topics.

So a form of transport that is easily accessible, low cost, requires low energy and generates no waste or pollution, but potentially reduces congestion, is extremely flexible and a healthier option for potentially short commuter journeys, neighbourhood school and social trips and recreation exercise should be a contender for smart urban travel innovation of this century?

Why did this sudden experiment seem to fail in Singapore? And more importantly, if cycling is back on the agenda, with the public, cycling interest groups and mobility professionals, what needs to be done differently to make cycling a safe, convenient, cost effective and enjoyable means of moving around Singapore?

Learning from local experience

Based on my experience, observations and thoughts of that time, here are some suggestions, some possible contributory factors in the past, and even one or two thoughts on some potential priorities:

No network of connecting cycle routes

The public realm of Singapore, like many relatively modern cities, has been developed primarily around motor vehicles. Whilst there’s been some work for a Park Connector Network (PCN), a long mooted Round-Island-Route (RIR) and some localized cycle paths in one or two district towns, we haven’t seen a coordinated drive to complete a comprehensive and joined up cycling network,...yet!

Missing sensible ‘common rules’ and management requirements of the operators

In Singapore, as an avowed free market commercial centre, does maximizing monetary returns alone sometimes cloud the necessity also for subsidized pricing, sensible rules and a coordinated regulatory approach?

In commercial bidding it’s presumably easy to proffer risky tender pricing, and/or promise elevated licensing payments if your intended operations don’t include the essential management and maintenance commitments also required for a sustained, enduring and quality performance service?

An in-disciplined business and operations model

Allowing the pick-up and finishing of journeys anywhere, meant the bikes were often dumped in odd and inappropriate locations. Cluttering sidewalks or trashed in public places, there appeared to be little planning, no organizational oversight and no incentive for rewarding disciplined use, or penalizing bad habits.

Matching supply and demand across a geographic urban area surely must be one of the most challenging aspects of transport and service planning. So, some trans-location or management of the bikes and ‘stations’ would seem wise and absolutely necessary, in an ongoing manner. Making more data ‘open source’ could surely inform us better, with valuable information about the journeys people actually take, duration, frequency and timing?

No maintenance of the actual bikes

A tropical climate is unforgiving on steel and rubber in any case. And as with many shared facilities, the use, miss-use and some level of damage to individual bikes was inevitable. Whether through carelessness or deliberate action, many bikes were dumped, damaged or misappropriated, which gives the impression that all these services are not appreciated and not valued. While that might be true for a small minority, I don’t believe that is true of the majority of users, although everyone suffers if there are negative consequences.

Little or no supporting infrastructure for the share cycles

Lack of designated parking areas, few joined up cycle routes, let alone cycleways. Inconsistent real and virtual directional and destination information and little recognition of slower mode movements in traffic and intersection controls. All these and others contribute to a city environment that doesn’t seem to support, let alone encourage biking.

Cycling doesn’t appear as a priority to relevant Authorities

Fashioned and managed around revenue generating privately owned motorcars, those who regulate this and the road systems, didn’t seem to be proactive in planning or even supporting initiatives that could support mobility alternatives. Couldn’t low cost alternatives really help different sections of society, the elderly, younger generations, school aged children and a foreign-working-population?

How can the current and future prospects be more positive?

With a very broad brush evaluation of the past situation, from a personal perspective, comments and views from others with knowledge, expertise and an interest in this field would be welcomed. Particularly now, as the demand for, and purchase of bicycles is on the increase again. Following the COVID-19 pandemic ‘circuit breaker’ restrictions, changing commuter patterns and more ‘work from home’ situations have motivated people are taking up and use bikes. There are still plenty of questions, among others;

·        What proportion of bicycles are being used, and how frequently?

·        Are most journey’s for recreation fun, how many people actually bike to work?

·        Can cycling be complementary to public transport?

·        Is data useful to plan independent and flexible modes of transport, like biking?

·        What role does speed of vehicles and safety issues impact choices in cycling?

·        Does the Singapore climate really deter people from using bikes?

Is this time an opportunity to really progress cycling and all the bike mode variations (personal mobility devices PMDs), as a real viable healthy alternative to the car?

Where do we go from here? As the demand for, and purchase of bicycles is on the increase following the COVID-19 pandemic ‘circuit breaker’ restrictions, will changing commuter patterns and more ‘work from home’ situations motivate people to take up cycling?