Oral Reply by Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Lam Pin Min to Parliamentary Question on Regulation of Bike-Sharing Schemes

Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Minister for Transport

a.     whether the Ministry plans to align measures to manage indiscriminate parking and use of bicycles owned by bike-sharing companies across agencies so that there is a consistent framework that can be implemented in areas managed by HDB, URA and Town Councils; and

b.     what are some of the concerns and feedback from the public and operators for some of the measures being considered.

Mr Ang Wei Neng asked the Minister for Transport

a.     what is the policy of the Government on regulating dockless bicycle-sharing schemes;

b.     since January 2017, what is the number of complaints received on the improper usage of dockless bicycles including indiscriminate parking and vandalism; and

c.     what is the number of dockless bicycles confiscated by the authorities and, of which, how many have been returned to the bicycle sharing firms.

Reply by Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Lam Pin Min:

1.     LTA has been coordinating with fellow government agencies and Town Councils to align the approach against indiscriminate parking of shared bicycles. There are three elements in our approach.

2.     First, ensure an adequate supply of parking spaces. LTA is working with NParks, HDB and Town Councils to increase bicycle parking capacity within their premises. On LTA's part, it has implemented 34 bicycle parking zones, which can accommodate 1400 bicycles, at MRT stations. These are quicker to implement than bicycle racks and LTA will be providing more, including near bus stops. At the same time, LTA will continue with its ongoing plans to add 6000 more bicycle racks at various MRT stations, and another 500 lots in the city area by 2019.

3.     Second, ensure the cooperation of the bicycle-sharing companies. LTA requires them to promptly remove their bicycles which are indiscriminately parked. It is in their interest to cooperate with the authorities. Any public backlash may make the business model unsustainable.

4.     Third, strict enforcement against errant behaviour. If the indiscriminately parked bicycles are not removed within half a day, LTA will impound them, levy a fee on the bicycle-sharing companies for the resources used for the impounding, and fine the companies. LTA has received about 70 complaints of indiscriminate parking since the beginning of this year. This does not include the many comments on forums and social media. LTA has served around 1000 notices for indiscriminately parked bicycles, of which 200 bicycles have been impounded, and about half of the impounded bicycles have been collected by the companies.