Provision of Lockers for Storage of Personal Mobility Devices

Mr Ang Hin Kee asked the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider investing in lockers for storage of personal mobility devices (PMDs) and setting aside parking spaces/charging stations for parking of electric bicycles and bicycles at community clubs/centres/MRT stations to promote cycling and PMDs.

Mdm Speaker, all new Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations are designed with more parking space for bicycles and electric bicycles, 100 to 300 lots, compared to 40 to 100 lots currently provided for stations with available space. For existing stations, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is expanding the number of bicycle parking spaces progressively, starting with the stations with the most acute shortage. LTA will also be seeking powers to mandate bicycle parking standards for private residential, commercial and community developments.

At the moment, we have no plans to provide storage facilities for personal mobility devices. Users tend to carry the devices with them. We will, however, continue to monitor the trends.

Madam, I read with great interest the Walking and Cycling Plans for new developments that developers have to put in place. For existing developers, are there items or schemes that the Ministry of Transport (MOT) may consider encouraging them to also do likewise, so that they can provide especially storage facilities? I have visited and met some personal mobility device users who tend to carry their devices, whether e-scooters or hoverboards, to training classrooms or gyms. They have to move around with those equipment because there is no other proper place to store them.

Mdm Speaker, as I had explained earlier, for existing buildings, it is a little harder to require retrospectively the owners to make such provisions available. Within the building, there could already be constraints. I think it is quite clear to the building owners that as the number of users increase, as part of their friendliness towards the tenants in the building, they would want to make such facilities available. We will continue to monitor the trends. The priority is to require new buildings to do so and where opportunities arise and it is possible for us to encourage existing building owners to do likewise, we will do so.

Just a supplementary question for the Senior Minister of State. For new Downtown Line stations, can I just confirm with the Senior Minister of State how many bicycle parking facilities will be made available at each station?

I do not have the answer offhand. That is very detailed, but the Member could file a Parliamentary Question, we will provide it to him.