Measures to Reduce Indiscriminate Parking of Shared Bicycles

Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether the geo-fencing and incentive/disincentive elements in the bike-sharing operators' mobile applications have addressed the indiscriminate parking of bicycles; (b) what more can be done to compel the operators to make more investments to unilaterally clear indiscriminately parked bicycles expeditiously; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider subsidising agencies, such as Town Councils and commercial establishments, to remove or report such bicycles.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been working with the other agencies to provide more parking spaces and step up enforcement. Since enforcement commenced in May 2017, LTA has issued more than 2,100 removal notices and collected about $180,000 in fines and administrative fees from the Bicycle Sharing Operators (BSOs). In October 2017, LTA, the National Parks Board (NParks) and Town Councils signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with BSOs, which sets out guidelines on the responsible operation of bicycle-sharing services in public spaces.

LTA will also be proposing legislative amendments later this month to put in place a licensing framework for BSOs. As part of the proposed licensing framework, BSOs will be required to remove indiscriminately parked bicycles on public land within a stipulated time period. BSOs will also be required to adopt schemes that will disincentivise users for indiscriminate parking. This may involve high-accuracy geo-fencing. More details of the licensing framework will be announced when ready.

Mr Speaker, may I ask the Senior Minister of State what is stopping the Ministry of Transport from taking enforcement actions against hirers of bicycles from being prosecuted because of the way they dump the bicycles?

If we fine litterbugs from throwing cigarette butts, why should we not fine bicycle users for throwing their bicycles on the roadside, or expressways, flyovers, drains? Surely, these are worse litterers. They create such an eyesore for members of the public, so the entire public is put to inconvenience because of the indiscriminate littering of bicycles by some inconsiderate users.

I would like to thank Mr Lim for the supplementary question and I understand the frustration faced by the public. LTA currently adopts a five-pronged approach to managing disamenities of dockless bicycle sharing.

First, we are providing more public bicycle parking spaces. In fact, all Government agencies and Town Councils allow shared bicycles to be parked in all public bicycle parking areas. There are currently about 174,000 bicycle parking lots available, and we plan to add another 50,000 by 2020.

Secondly, through educating and guiding proper parking behaviour. LTA has been working with the BSOs to educate shared bicycle users, and we have developed educational materials on proper bicycle etiquette.

Thirdly, to shape user behaviour. Some BSOs have implemented GPS geo-fencing, and users that park bicycles within a geo-fenced parking zone are given incentives. There are also BSOs which have implemented Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) geo stations and charge a towing fee to users who do not park properly.

Fourthly, of course, we do step up enforcement actions. Currently, what we do is to fine a BSO which fails to retrieve indiscriminately parked bicycles. In fact, the fine ranges from $100 for the first offence, $200 for the second offence and $500 for subsequent offences.

Next, like I had mentioned in my reply, we did sign an MOU together with the BSOs, NParks and Town Councils. The MOU aims to encourage responsible operation of bike-sharing services in public spaces.

With regard to penalising users, under the current Street Works Act, users who indiscriminately park their bicycles on public streets and cause obstruction and inconvenience can be fined up to $2,000. However, there are challenges. It is difficult to catch users in the act of parking bicycles indiscriminately. I would like to share with Mr Lim that at this moment, we do not have users who have been caught so far.

Can I just check how many times have each of the BSOs been issued fines for neglecting the shared bicycles that are strewn all over the place, and are there plans to tighten this penalty mechanism imposed on the BSOs?

Based on the number of notices issued and bicycles impounded from the period May 2017 to 21 January 2018, there was a total of 2,171 removal notices issued, and the number of bicycles impounded adds up to 341. The total fines collected by LTA amounted to about $180,000. These do not include those issued by the Town Councils or NParks.

I would like to thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. I would like a bit more information on this licensing regime that the Minister spoke about. Because it does appear that in spite of these fines that have been given to the BSOs, there is still a long way to go in terms of ensuring that the bicycles are not causing disamenity to members of the public.

Can I ask the Senior Minister of State is there a regime which LTA imposes on the BSOs to clear bicycles expeditiously? I think there is currently a four-hour timeline where they have to remove the bicycles. However, many of them still cannot make that timeline. In relation to my Parliamentary Question, even though Town Councils have signed the MOU with LTA, the reality is Town Council officers or property officers do not have that much leeway of time to go around looking for these bicycles and then monitoring whether they are cleared within four hours or not.

Is LTA going to look at the prospect of requiring the BSOs to intensify their efforts to pick up illegally or indiscriminately parked bikes? Because they are profit-making entities after all.

Indeed, I agree with Mr Pritam Singh that the BSOs are not performing up to the desired outcomes that LTA would want them to. This is the reason why we will be proposing legislative amendments to put in place a licensing framework for BSOs. I will be sharing more of this when it is ready.

I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State a question. I think part of the issue is about the demand and supply, probably because of the cost of the bicycle. How is LTA monitoring and managing this with the BSOs in terms of the growth rate with which they are putting the bicycles out?

I would like to thank Miss Cheryl Chan for the supplementary question. LTA does have regular meetings with BSOs to discuss issues relating to their daily operations as well as the problem of indiscriminate parking. At the same time, we do discuss with the BSOs with regard to the optimum fleet size that will meet the requirements of Singaporeans. I would like to reassure Miss Cheryl Chan that we will continue to do so with the BSOs. At the same time, when we do propose the legislative amendments, this will set out the regulatory framework, the licensing framework, to control the operations of the BSOs.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for his answers. Can the Senior Minister of State assure the House and residents affected that in this study of the upcoming framework, his Ministry will study expedited requirements to remove a bicycle, especially in areas where access is critical? I raise this because my residents have encountered these shared bikes blocking fire exits, wheelchair ramps and other essential parts of the estate, and they are worried that the companies are socialising the costs while privatising the profits.

I would like to thank Dr Tan for the supplementary question. This is exactly the intent of the legislative amendments and the framework that we will be coming up with. We will be consulting the stakeholders as well as the industry. And we will keep all these in mind during the discussion.

I wanted to ask the Senior Minister of State why are we just focusing on giving fines to the BSOs? Surely, the BSOs should be able to review the data of the last user of the bicycle who left his bicycle in an indiscriminate manner. Would the Senior of State not agree with me that we would be better able to shape user behaviour if we impose a fine on those users who park their bicycles in a manner that obstruct fire exits and wheelchair ramps?

I totally agree with Mr Lim. In fact, that is the intention. With the new legislative framework, we do want the BSOs to impose some form of disincentive with regard to renting out of the bicycles. I would just like to remind all Members of the House that while there may be interim inconveniences and disamenities, I would like to reiterate that there are actually many benefits of the bike-sharing scheme, not just the disamenities that we are currently facing, which may be transient in nature. Benefits include transport flexibility in terms of first- and last-mile connectivity. There will be reductions in vehicle emissions if we are able to bring the population of car ownership down. In addition to that, there are also health benefits of cycling. It will also reduce congestion and fuel consumption. More importantly, it complements our vision of a car-lite society.

I was particularly thrilled by a column that I read yesterday, an opinion of the day by one of our young journalists in The Straits Times. She shared her initial apprehension and scepticism of the bike-sharing scheme but later found the experience pleasing and enjoyable, and I would like to quote her:

"When the bike-sharing scheme started in Singapore about a year ago, some turned up their noses at this new sharing economy service and doubted it would last. After all, photos of bikes upended in the middle of a desolated field or abandoned in the storm drain triggered widespread outrage.

But writing here as a car-less commuter who often feels defeated by the merciless crush of people on public transport, I am all for bike-sharing as it has given commuting a new lease of life and transformed the way I experience my city."

So, I would like to urge all Members of the House and fellow Singaporeans to give the bike-sharing scheme a chance to evolve into a safe and convenient mode of transport in our daily lives. However, for this to become a reality, we need the support of everyone ‒ the authorities, the BSOs and, more importantly, you, the users of the bike-sharing scheme.