In September this year, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) granted “in-principle approval” for the transfer of Mobike’s license to SG Bike.
SG Bike’s US$1.9 million (S$2.54 million) takeover deal was first announced in August, with LTA giving it the green light a month later.
In an announcement on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Monday, SG Bike’s parent company ISOTeam said SG Bike will pay an initial sum of approximately S$597,400 in the deal.
It could pay up to about S$214,000 more, depending on the condition of the 7,000 Mobike bicycles stored in a warehouse here.
The total sum of about S$811,400 is less than a third of the S$2.54 million that SG Bike and Mobike had initially agreed on.
SG Bike currently operates 3,000 of its own bikes, mainly in Yishun, Tampines and East Coast.
Following the acquisition, it will absorb Mobike’s fleet, capped at 25,000. This increased fleet size makes SG Bike the largest bike-sharing firm in Singapore.
Mobike App Now Defunct
The license transfer, along with app integration, are finally completed today after some delays.
This means that users can unlock Mobike bicycles using the SG Bike app. The Mobike app on the other hand, will be rendered defunct.
Mobike users will also be able to transfer any remaining credit and ride passes to SG Bike by signing up for the service.
During the trial period starting today, SG Bike is offering free rides for trips under 30 minutes on Mobike-branded bicycles.
“This trial period will allow SG Bike to better manage the new resources and make any necessary adjustments to fine-tune its bike sharing services,” said SG Bike in a statement.
It added that the trial will end at a “later date”, but did not specify when. Users will be informed via an in-app notification.
Prices Will Remain The Same
SG Bike said that it will start deploying most of Mobike’s 7,000 stored bikes in Punggol, before expanding to the rest of the north-east region.
With regards to pricing, it will not be revising the subscription plans after the takeover.
It will continue to offer 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.
Commenting on the acquisition, chief operating officer of SG Bike Sean Tay said, “bicycles remain the most flexible transport mode and we believe this position will allow SG Bike to accelerate the adoption of shared bicycles.”
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has approved a total fleet size of 45,000 shared bicycles in Singapore.
The other operators include Anywheel and Moov Technology, both of which have licences to operate 10,000 bicycles each.
Featured Image Credit: SG Bike
