New entrant in Singapore's bike-share battle
Another dockless bike-sharing service - this time backed by Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi - is expected to make its debut here by the end of the year.
Baicycle will be the sixth operator - following ofo, Mobike, oBike, SG Bike and GBikes - to provide Singaporeans with two-wheelers that can be rented using a mobile app. The name is a play on the Chinese word "bai", which means white - the colour of its bicycles.
Baicycle, available in China and Japan, will be brought to Singapore by Xiaobai Technology, a local company started by Mr Terence Tan, who also runs Eco Biz International, which specialises in mobility devices.
But with at least 30,000 shared bicycles already in the market, it may be an uphill ride to gain a market share, said observers.
Asked about this, Mr Tan, 58, said its business model is different, as Baicycle will offer shared electric bicycles and e-scooters, on top of regular bikes.
He said it will roll out 2,000 conventional bicycles when the service is launched.
Next year, Mr Tan targets to have a combined 10,000 e-bikes and e-scooters available to riders.
He declined to reveal how much rentals will cost and how the vehicles will be charged. - THE STRAITS TIMES
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