SINGAPORE: Bike-sharing start-up Moov Technology has been granted in-principle approval for a full licence to operate a fleet of up to 10,000 bicycles, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Monday (Oct 14).
The company previously held a sandbox licence which allowed it to operate up to 1,000 bicycles for a year.
With the full licence, it can operate in public places for two years. Moov said it intends to expand beyond the western part of Singapore, make all 10,000 bikes available to users by the first quarter of 2020.
“We are grateful for LTA’s decision and committed to continue working with the authorities, communities and users to provide the public with green mobility-sharing solutions,” said Moov chief operating officer Sharon Meng.
Moov Technology was previously granted a sandbox licence in April.
Bike-sharing operators here must meet requirements such as implementing a Quick Response (QR) code parking system to ensure users park within designated areas.
Since the QR code parking system started in January, the number of trips ending in indiscriminate bicycle parking has fallen from 44 per cent to 13 per cent, said LTA on Monday.
Users who fail to properly park and scan the QR-codes for three or more times in a year will face a month-long ban from all bicycle-sharing services. The ban period will increase with subsequent lapses.
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There are currently three bike-sharing operators in Singapore.
Apart from Moov, Anywheel is licensed to operate 10,000 bikes. SG Bike’s fleet size of 25,000 bicycles is the largest in Singapore after it took over Mobike’s licence.
“LTA regularly reviews the fleet sizes of shared bicycles to ensure that their numbers are able to meet user demand without causing public disamenities,” said the authority.
