SG Bike completes $1.9m takeover of Mobike fleet, offers free rides

Singapore’s SG Bike says it is the country’s largest bike-sharing operator after completing its acquisition of Mobike’s local fleet today.

In March, it was revealed that Chinese bike-sharing giant Mobike would pull out of the Lion City to focus its efforts on other markets. The company later said it was exploring options to transfer its Singapore bike-sharing operator’s license to another player.

Photo credit: SG Bike

Local startup SG Bike – which is majority-owned by civil engineering firm ISOTeam – agreed to take over Mobike’s license and its fleet of bicycles in August, with Singapore’s Land Transport Authority giving its approval for the move the following month.

As a result of the over S$2.5 million (almost US$1.9 million) deal, SG Bike has boosted its fleet to 25,000 dockless shared bicycles. From today, its users will be able to unlock Mobike two-wheelers using the SG Bike app, while users of the Mobike app will be able to transfer any remaining credit and ride passes to SG Bike by signing up for the service. Following the deal, the Mobike app will become defunct.

SG Bike said that, for a limited period, Mobike cycles will be free to use for the first 30 minutes of each trip to allow the company “to better manage the new resources and make any necessary adjustments to fine tune” the service.

The startup also said it has no plans to revise pricing after the takeover. It currently offers seven-day and 30-day ride passes at S$3.90 and S$11.90, respectively, as well as “basic” and “family” price plans to suit customer needs. For on-the-spot use, it usually charges a fixed fare of S$1.00 for the first 30 minutes of riding, plus S$0.03 per minute after that.

Currency converted from Singapore dollars. Rate: US$1 = S$1.37