Land Transport Authority Cessation of bike sharing operations

Three bike sharing operations have ceased operation as they are not able to meet the onerous licensing requirements imposed by the Land Transport Authority.

It is wasteful for these operators to spend a few million dollars to set up an operation only to have to close it due due to these requirements. Their customers, who have placed deposits, will also suffer the loss of their deposits, if they are not able to get a full refund.

I understand that one of the requirement is a fine of $500 if the operator is not able to retrieve the shared bike that is left outside of the designated place. I find this fine to be excessive. 

I suggest that the focus of the penalty should be on the customers who were responsible for the bad behavior. There is very little that the operator can do, except to spend a lot of money to employ workers to retrieve these bikes.

I suggest that each customer should be required to place a deposit of $50 and that the deposit will be forfeited if they leave the bike outside the authorised zone. These customers would not be able to book the shared bike in the future. 

If customers are aware of the penalty, and it is allowed under the licensing regime, they are likely to play their part and observe the rules. The operators will then be able to run a viable operation. 

The Land Transport Authority can authorise a company to retrieve the mis-parked bikes and return it to a designated compound for a finder fee of $30. I am sure that these finders will find it an attractive proposition.

Let us avoid a situation where the operator and their thousands of customers lose out due to onerous and impractical regulations. Let these operators continue to provide a service that benefit the public at large.

Tan Kin Lian

Add Comment

---