Two days after the latest bike-sharing platform, Mobike, launched here, the Government announced it would scrap its plan for a national bike-sharing scheme.

The Land Transport Authority, which had already attracted tenders for the scheme, said on Friday it has “reassessed” its plan as the three private companies, Mobike, oBike and ofo, are looking to roll out “many thousands” of bicycles over the next two years.

The companies said they are actively working with partners so that their bikes can be parked at public racks, after the East Coast-Fengshan Town Council recently objected to bikes being parked at its public racks for “rental business”.

There are teething problems – Mobike’s GPS led our reporters on a wild goose chase for bikes around the island, and some ofo bikes we found could not be unlocked using the app.

How do these services compare with one another? We find out. – ISABELLE LIEW

oBike

EASE OF RENTAL AND PAYMENT

The service asks for a $49 deposit, but students get a discounted rate of $19.

Payment was simple, with the app accepting either PayPal and credit or debit cards.

Bikes are widely available at designated bike parking areas islandwide and I easily located them through the in-app GPS.

oBike gives users the option of reserving a bike for 10 minutes. All I had to do to begin cycling was to scan the QR code.

Rating: 4/5

RIDING THE BIKE

oBike seems more suited for recreational use on flat paths. The bike is rather large and heavy, so cycling on narrow or crowded paths is a challenge.

The lack of gears on the bike makes it near impossible to ride up slopes, and not all bikes I saw were equipped with baskets and lights.

Rating: 2/5

EASE OF RETURN

Returning the bike was a matter of parking it at a designated public bike parking area and turning the bike lock on the back wheel to let the app know that the session is over.

oBike also employs a credit system, where demerit points are given to users who break such rules. A bad credit score affects the cost of your ride.

Rating: 5/5

VALUE FOR MONEY

At $0.50 per 15 minutes, oBike’s pricing is fairly competitive.

Promotions are available – referring a friend gives both of you a $3 ride coupon.

Rating: 5/5

OVERALL

The software is relatively seamless, but the ride itself is lacking.

The oBike’s clumsy design makes for an uncomfortable ride up slopes, something even the attractive price-point cannot overcome. I would opt for a traditional bike with gears from a bike-rental shop.

Rating: 4/5

– ALYSHA CHANDRA

ofo

EASE OF RENTAL AND PAYMENT

Unlike its competitors, ofo does not have a GPS system. I had to visit several MRT stations before I found an ofo bike.

Rating: Nil

RIDING THE BIKE

The gear chains were oiled but not greasy, and the bike seat had ample space for me.

But the front handle and adjustable seat of the bike shifted whenever the bike experienced a significant bump.

ofo bikes offer three gear changes as opposed to the usual single gear bikes their competitors offer. Do not get your hopes up too high because these bikes are not built for speed.

Rating: 3/5

EASE OF RETURN

The return of the bike was simple. ofo’s return policy states that the return can happen anywhere and anytime, as long as the bike is not obstructing pathways and remains visible.

You end the trip by pressing a button on the app, and manually lock the wheel using a lever.

The return was far more pleasant than the rental.

Rating: 4/5

VALUE FOR MONEY

The pricing for ofo will be $0.50 per trip, but the rides are free for now.

Rating: 5/5

OVERALL

ofo bikes are wallet-friendly, and they provide users with a decent riding experience.

But it was so difficult to find one that it wasn’t worth the time and effort.

Rating: 3/5

– JONATHAN LEE, ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFIQ ROSLAN

Mobike

EASE OF RENTAL AND PAYMENT

The Mobike app, available on Apple and Android devices, is easy to download.

There is a refundable $49 deposit and the Mobike Wallet can be topped up using a credit or debit card.

Locating the bike is meant to be easy using the app, which also allows you to reserve one for up to 15 minutes. But as we reported last week, eight out of 10 times, the bikes could not be found at their shown locations.

Rating: 2/5

RIDING THE BIKE

The Mobikes are light and the attached basket is handy. The built-in headlights and reflectors are helpful for late-night rides. But the current crop of Mobikes do not allow for the seat to be adjusted and they do not have gears.

Rating: 3/5

EASE OF RETURN

Mobikes can be returned at any public bike parking areas, such as those around MRT stations and HDB void decks. When a latch on the lock near the wheel is pulled, the app recognises that the ride is completed.

To discourage irresponsible bike behaviour, Mobike has a credit system that awards points for each ride, but it also deducts points for irresponsible parking or usage.

Rating: 4/5

VALUE FOR MONEY

Mobike charges $1 for every 30 minutes of use. Each time I top up, I get a number of free rides (as long as the ride is under 30 minutes), encouraging me to continue biking.

Rating: 3/5

OVERALL

Lighter and faster than its competitors here, Mobike has the potential to become the better option once the app instructions and GPS are fully optimised for Singapore use and usage charges become more flexible.

Rating: 3/5

GWEN CHEN

This article was first published on Mar 27, 2017.
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A parallel car importer in Woodlands Close seems to have closed down, leaving at least 13 buyers in the lurch.

Customers of Royal Automotive told The Straits Times last week that they are owed about $600,000 and have been unable to reach the company’s director or staff in the past two months.

The company has vacated its showroom, its Facebook page has also been taken down and website sgCarMart lists it as “not in operation”. ST was also unable to contact the company’s director, Mr Syed Khairil.

Buyers said they placed orders with Royal Automotive from as early as last May, and made deposits and payments of up to $100,000 but never got their cars.

Read also: Dealership fails to deliver cars; ex-employee charged with misappropriating over $400k

Other buyers said they could collect their vehicles only after they forked out more for the certificate of entitlement and additional registration fee.

The company allegedly told them it was in financial difficulty and would pay them back these amounts later. These customers are each owed between $20,000 and $60,000.

Royal Automotive made the headlines last November when its former sales representative, Chua Peng Jun, 23, was charged in court with misappropriating $414,564. Mr Syed told the media then that it would try its best to fulfil all its orders.

However, Royal Automotive texted some buyers earlier this month to tell them it had a “total loss of its liquidity and assets” due to Chua’s case.

Besides apologising, the firm said: “There is nothing that we can do for any one (sic) of the customers.”

Read also: Checklist for used-car buyers launched

Buyers said they were attracted by Royal Automotive’s prices, which were up to $10,000 cheaper than other dealers.

Ms Tan C.H., 48, a customer relations officer, ordered a Toyota Sienta in October and placed a $10,000 deposit. In the same month, the firm asked for another $76,888, claiming the car would be delivered by year-end.

After Chua was charged, Ms Tan said the delivery was postponed to March. But she never got the car.

“We don’t know what to do next. It’s our hard-earned money,” she said.

Attempts by three buyers to recover their money via the Small Claims Tribunal were unsuccessful.

Ms Kristen Teng, 31, an administrative manager, said Mr Syed did not turn up for the mediation last month. The registrar ordered the company to refund her deposit of $15,000 by March 15, but it did not do so.

This article by The Straits Times was published in The New Paper, a free newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.

More flights and seats to existing destinations as well as services to new cities will be available to travellers at Changi Airport over the coming weeks.

These could lead to lower fares, especially on popular regional routes.

In May, Singapore Airlines will launch a new service to Stockholm in Sweden, via Moscow, while its long-haul budget arm Scoot will start flying to Athens, Greece, in June.

There will also be more flights to 12 destinations in the Asia-Pacific, Changi Airport Group told The Straits Times.

Read also: 7 things you might not know about Changi airport announcers

In all, 12,000 weekly one-way seats from Singapore will be added progressively, with about two-thirds of the growth on Asian routes.

Cities with more flights to be added include popular destinations such as Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phuket and Yangon.

ADDING FLIGHTS

Airlines are also adding flights to Ahmedabad in western India and Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, as well as to the Australian cities of Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

The numbers are based on schedules pre-filed by carriers for what is known as the northern summer season, which started yesterday and ends in late October.

Changi’s managing director (air hub development), Mr Lim Ching Kiat, said: “Travel in the Asia-Pacific region has seen healthy growth in the past 12 months, and we are pleased that the increase in services will strengthen Changi Airport’s network.”

He added: “With Africa as the next frontier in emerging markets, we are also excited about the relaunch of flights to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).”

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Photo Gallery

Free hot towel shaves, head and face massages at Changi Airport

Source:

AsiaOne

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Ethiopian Airlines, which stopped flying to Singapore from Addis Ababa in September 2014 because of weak demand, will resume services in June with five flights a week between the two cities.

Changi Airport, which handled a record 58.7 million passengers last year – 5.9 per cent higher than in 2015 – is expected to continue to increase flight numbers and services as the demand for air travel in the region continues to grow, analysts said.

The growth at Changi mirrors expansion in other South-east Asian countries, the Centre for Aviation said in a recent report.

MODERATE GROWTH

However, its Singapore-based analyst, Mr Brendan Sobie, noted that while passenger traffic in Malaysia and Vietnam is expected to grow strongly this year, Singapore, as a more mature market, can expect more moderate growth.

Read also: Changi’s T5 likely to be served by 2 MRT lines

Overall, the future is bright for the region, with economic growth and a growing middle-class fuelling demand for air travel. In the longer term, airports in the region will continue to bustle, with South-east Asian carriers accounting for about 20 per cent of the total global aircraft orders, and 30 per cent of orders made by the budget carriers, Mr Sobie said.

While this may not necessarily be a good thing for airlines, especially in the current climate, with capacity outstripping the growth in demand for air travel, it is good news for airports and travellers, he said.

This article was first published on Mar 27, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Even after red flags show up in a health screening, it can take a lot to get people to see a doctor for a proper check-up.

Medical groups which run health screenings say a significant proportion of people who need to follow up on their screening do not do so.

SingHealth, which runs six to eight screenings a year, says one in four people who were screened between July 2015 and the same month last year had not returned for a doctor’s follow-up after a year.

Healthcare professionals say many people do not see their results as being serious enough to warrant a doctor’s visit, or do not want any medication. Some say they are too busy.

Dr Emily Ho, director (clinical) of the SingHealth Regional Health System, said: “Some prefer to control their conditions on their own, via diet and exercise.”

The Health Ministry this month said Singaporeans aged 40 and above will be able to get screened for five diseases – high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes as well as cervical and colorectal cancer – at just $5 from September.

Read also: Hon Hoi chairman wants to battle breast cancer with this global alliance

The fee includes screening and the first follow-up consultation with a doctor, and is even cheaper for those on the Community Health Assist Scheme or who are part of the pioneer generation.

Diabetes affects an estimated 400,000 people in Singapore, while cervical and colorectal cancer are among the top cancers here. Meanwhile, high blood pressure and cholesterol can increase a person’s risk of heart attack and stroke.

Making screening affordable is part of the Government’s move to pick up such ailments early. By including a first consultation in the $5 fee, it hopes to reduce the drop-off rates of those who test positive but do not follow up on the results.

Currently, the key to getting people to come back for a follow-up seems to be persistence.

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Photo Gallery

16 must-knows for colorectal cancer prevention

Source: Merck Serono, Reuters, AFP, Shutterstock.com

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Groups such as SingHealth, the Diabetic Society of Singapore (DSS) and the Singapore Cancer Society have nurses who call people to remind them to make follow-up appointments. They call them at regular intervals – usually every three to six months – and explain to them the potential risks if they delay making such appointments.

The National Healthcare Group (NHG), on its part, has post-screening talks to help people interpret their results the day they get them.

“We also provide vouchers for subsidised consultations at participating general practitioner clinics nearby,” an NHG spokesman said.

Read also: We are young and we have cancer

DSS vice-president Kalpana Bhaskaran stressed the importance of screenings and follow-ups, saying: “Most of the lifestyle diseases are silent diseases and do not have any symptoms during the initial stages, so people are not aware.”

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Photo Gallery

1 person diagnosed with kidney failure every 5 hours in Singapore

Source:

Various sources

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She also said problems can snowball without regular screenings and follow-ups – for example, diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney failure and amputation of the limbs.

“Some are scared to go in case the doctor detects something abnormal, and they have to spend money to treat it,” Dr Kalpana said.

Not dealing with such ailments early leads to more money being spent when the conditions worsen.

One person who prefers to be vigilant is Mr Bernard Loh, 79, who goes for polyclinic check-ups every few months to ensure his high blood pressure and high cholesterol are under control.

The retired marine engineer said: “I would rather know about this kind of thing early.”

This article by The Straits Times was published in The New Paper, a free newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.

Nursing clothes allow mothers to breastfeed discreetly in public, while some prefer a nursing cover or going without it

When Mrs Sharon Ho-Norton was breastfeeding her first child 15 years ago, the nursing clothes she wore were less than ideal.

The garments – which allow mothers to breastfeed discreetly in public via concealed openings – were mostly manufactured for Western markets then and they were generally too big for her petite frame. The fabrics used were also thick, making them uncomfortable to wear in Singapore’s hot climate.

The experience inspired the 44year-old mother of two, who enjoyed art in school, to design her own nursing wear for sale.

Awareness about breastfeeding was low at the time. She recalls that some local factories that she approached asked if the openings in her nursing clothing were flaws.

She eventually set up Mothers en Vogue, which sells maternity and nursing wear, about 14 years ago. It started as an online business, but now has two stores in Singapore and shops in countries such as Malaysia and Cambodia.

Her 48-year-old husband works in the education industry. Their son Brandon is now 15 and their daughter Nikki is 13.

She says: “Mothers want to breastfeed, but the issue is the amount of skin exposed when we have to do it in public. For me, as long as most of my breast was not exposed, it was good enough.”

Breastfeeding in public became a talking point when Ms Cheryl Lee, a mother of three, was photographed breastfeeding on an MRT train two weeks ago without a nursing cover, which left most of one breast exposed. The picture was posted on Facebook.

Ms Lee said in a Facebook post that she does not think it is wrong to breastfeed in public and that her daughter would cry and struggle if she is fed under a nursing cover.

Many praised her for putting her child’s needs first, with some saying people should stop sexualising breastfeeding. But others said she should cover up.

So should breastfeeding mothers cover up in public or not?

For Mrs Ho-Norton, wearing the nursing clothes she designed meant she was able to breastfeed her children so discreetly that people thought they were sleeping.

“I breastfed my children in public, such as in queues at the bank and supermarket. People thought I was cradling a sleeping baby,” she recalls, adding that some people took a step back after realising the baby was suckling.

For Ms Janice Leong, 26, who gave birth to her first child less than two weeks ago, nursing garments do not provide enough coverage.

The lifestyle blogger, who has an interest in fashion, bought a lot of stylish nursing clothing when she was pregnant. However, when she nurses her son Christopher at the polyclinic, where she takes him for check-ups for jaundice, a common condition in newborns, she usually uses a nursing cover over the nursing clothes she is wearing.

The possibility of accidentally exposing herself, she says, may cause more stress when breastfeeding can already be anxiety-inducing.

She adds: “Breastfeeding can make you nervous, especially as a first-time mum.

“It’s extra stress if the baby is crying.”

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Photo Gallery

Woman breastfeeds baby at Raffles Place

Source: Jen Pan Photography

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While breastfeeding women can use nursing rooms, which are commonly found in malls, they are not always an option.

Ms Cindy Gan, 33, who runs a content marketing business, used to breastfeed her daughter at home before the family went out or in the family car. She sometimes looked for public nursing rooms if she had to feed Vera, who is now three.

But her daughter’s slow feeding meant she had to switch things up. “I decided I did not want to be in a nursing room for an hour,” she says.

She then started breastfeeding on the go using a cover, while carrying her child in a carrier underneath. Her second child Leroy, who is 13 months old, is still being breastfed.

She has had strangers approach her asking if her baby can breathe under the cover, which shocks her, but she attributes it to a lack of awareness about breastfeeding.

Ms Tan Li Lin, who breastfeeds her 6 ½-month-old daughter Lia, says she prefers to cover up because of conservative societal attitudes.

“Knowing that some people may not be comfortable with public breastfeeding makes me uncomfortable,” says the 33-year-old executive coach.

She has breastfed her child in a public toilet before, an experience shared by other mothers, although she prefers nursing rooms to covers, which her daughter resists.

“Some restaurants don’t have a nursing room. I felt sad for my baby when I had to breastfeed her in a toilet, but she was hungry. Sometimes I wish for more nursing-friendly facilities,” says Ms Tan, who also blogs for I Love Children, a voluntary welfare organisation that advocates parenthood and pro-family causes.

Dr Christopher Chong, an obstetrician, gynaecologist and urogynaecologist at Gleneagles Hospital, says parents who prefer to avoid breastfeeding in public can establish a more predictable feeding routine.

“Having specific feeding times makes on-demand feeding less likely, so the mum can plan the time and place to breastfeed,” he adds.

Some mothers, such as Ms Namrata Trivedi, prefer to breastfeed in public without a nursing cover. She does not wear nursing clothes either.

Instead, she says: “It’s easier to wear a tank top underneath a T-shirt so my breast is not exposed.”

The stay-at-home mother – she has a 21/2-year-old son and a six-month-old daughter – says nursing covers are no good for her because the child is often wriggling and prefers not to be covered. She is currently breastfeeding her daughter.

Donning a cover takes time, especially when the baby is demanding to be fed, adds the 32-year-old, who is secretary of the Breastfeeding Mothers’ Support Group. The weather here is also too hot and humid to be using covers, she says.

She feels that covering up also affects the mother-child bonding experienced during breastfeeding.

“I don’t like to use a cover as it creates a separation between me and my baby. We’re not able to make eye contact,” she says, adding that sometimes nursing rooms are too far away and the hungry baby is wailing. “I’ve always made it a point to be confident when breastfeeding in public. When babies are hungry, they need nourishment.”

Easy, hidden ways to feed

While many mothers use nursing covers while breastfeeding their babies in public, there are fashionable alternatives that also provide a lot of coverage.

Nursing wear, which allows mums to breastfeed their children quickly through convenient lifts and flaps, are for women at “different stages of breastfeeding”, says Mrs Sharon Ho-Norton, founder and director of Mothers en Vogue, which specialises in maternity and nursing wear.

Nursing garments – including blouses and dresses – may have discreet openings just below the bust, at the sides or down the front. These facilitate quick nursing access, while allowing mothers to be covered up once the baby has latched onto the breast.

With women who have recently given birth, comfort and ease of nursing access are priorities, especially if they are tired from the demands of caring for newborns and infants, says Mrs Ho-Norton.

Initially, they may want garments that are roomier and drape their post-partum bodies, whereas when the baby is older and breastfeeding is more established, mothers who have lost their baby weight may prefer more fitted garments, she adds.

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Photo Gallery

Babies shouldn’t drink unscreened donor breast milk

Source:

Shutterstock.com

The Straits Times

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This article was first published on March 26, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Her digital start-up supports female entrepreneurs, helping them with expertise and crowdfunding.

Just don’t call it a social enterprise. It makes Woomentum founder Mouna Aouri, 42, “boil internally”.

She concedes that she could get immense support from her network by pitching Woomentum as a social enterprise, but she is adamantly against it.

“I can easily get at least $200,000 to operate (from firms doing corporate social responsibility projects), pay myself a salary and be comfortable,” Ms Aouri said.

“But this is not doing women any good. It enforces the impression that women are less.”

Born and raised in Tunisia, the mother of two girls, aged four and six, moved to Singapore with her husband in 2011.

She described her venture as a combination of community question-and-answer site Quora and crowdfunding site Kickstarter for female entrepreneurs to support and mentor one another through different stages of their businesses.

Ms Aouri will be a panel member at The Future is Female seminar on April 8, organised by The New Savvy, a website that aims to improve financial literacy among women.

Having worked mostly in a male-dominated environment, the civil engineer said she never imagined that she would do anything gender-related.

At 24, she did her master’s in engineering in Japan on a scholarship in 1999 and worked there for five years. She rose to a managerial position in a Japanese firm.

She said: “There was confusion every time I walked into a meeting, or when I put on the (engineering) outfit and helmet. They would ask, ‘Are you here to take notes?'”

Ms Aouri returned to Tunisia in 2006 because she missed her family and wanted to give back to her country.

She started her own B2B consulting company advising Japanese and French engineering firms, and she launched the first mobile wallet technology platform in Tunisia in 2010.

But the Arab Spring protests hit too close to home, literally.

Living near the presidential palace, where most of the protests took place, she could hear “gunshots around the corner”.

Ms Aouri, who had just given birth to her first child, Fuyubi (winter beauty in Japanese), and her husband decided to leave Tunisia. Her husband, who did his master’s in Singapore, found a job here, and they relocated in April 2011.

Their second daughter, Suraya (named after her close Malay friend), was born here.

Describing her first two years in Singapore as the lowest point of her life, Ms Aouri said: “My husband had a plan, but I did not. Being a mother added to my identity, but it was not a switch from the identity I had before.

“I love my children, but I also love myself. And because I love them, I want to offer them the best of myself and my well-being lies in being able to make a change, to learn, to be positive.”

And so Woomentum was born. So far, it has had four crowdfunding events, supporting 23 start-ups. It will launch in Vietnam next month.

“I want Woomentum and any other initiative that helps women, to succeed to the point where we don’t need to exist any more. That is the world that I envision for my daughters.”

This article was first published on March 27, 2017.
Get The New Paper for more stories.