Shared bikes that are indiscriminately parked or abandoned used to be a common sight in Singapore.
To clamp down on this problem, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has collected these bikes from public places and kept them in storage.
On July 10, LTA had put up an announcement for the sale of devices for export, though it did not specify what these devices were.
LTA received three bidding offers for the bikes, the highest of which is from a local bike-sharing firm Anywheel.
LTA has since sold 5,999 shared bikes to Anywheel at S$5 each, totalling to S$29,995.
According to Anywheel founder Htay Aung, majority of the bikes sold by LTA were originally owned by ofo, whose licence has been terminated in April following its failure to comply with regulations.
The Myanmar national intends to donate these newly-acquired bikes to needy students in Myanmar in the next two months.
It will be splitting the costs of shipping and refurbishment with a Myanmar non-profit organisation called Lesswalk. The expected cost for each bike is between $40 and $50.
“From Anywheel’s perspective, we know that some people have mismanaged shared-bike operations, but we wanted to make the point that these bikes can be reused for a good purpose,” Htay Aung told The Straits Times.
Meanwhile, LTA will be donating $30,000 of the sales proceeds to its charity fund.
Called LTA Cares Fund, it was created to help financially and physically disadvantaged working adults and students with their transport needs.
Featured Image Credit: Anywheel
