Bike-sharing in Singapore

This bike-share concept was introduced into Singapore quite some time back. There are three major players in Singapore. They are OFO, OBike and MoBike. I will take a look at OBike for this instance, because that is the company that supplied the bicycle pictured above, that I snapped at a bus-stop while waiting for a bus. oBike allows commuters to travel during one-way first- and last- mile commuting – via bicycles located all over the island, and uses technology to hire them. How do you hire the bikes? very simple and posted below:

It works with an app loaded on your smartphone. The app can be downloaded for free. You can reserve a bike and unlock it using the oBike app. At the end of the ride, just park the bike in a designated public bike-parking area and lock it using the app again. You need to have credits in your “wallet” to hire these bikes and a fare will be deducted for the time you use the bike, usually a very small amount. You also need to pay a refundable deposit when you sign up and decide to use the service. You can go to the site and read the FAQ.

This is what the lock looks like. I think that it has a tiny solar panel inside there that helps to power the GPS for locating the bike. From what I can see, the bike has a steel frame…more ho-tensile than chromoly steel. The brakes look like drum-brakes, the kind that will not hesitate to squeal if they are not maintained. The tires are solid rubber so you will never have to suffer a flat tire.

Have i tried this before? To be honest…no. But I am thinking of trying it with the wife when we go on cycling trips. It looks like fun.

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