Saturday, October 13, 2018

Give subsidy to shared bike operators

My recent poll indicates that most people expect most bike sharing operators to cease the operations within one year.

I agree with the finding.

Recently, a big operator Ofo increased their charges. An average ride will cost $2.50.

I do not see many people keen to use their bikes with these charges.

Under the integrated fare structure for public transport, the commuter can take a bus, which will add only a small amount to the integrated fare, maybe $0.10 on average. Why would they take a costly shared bike?

The weather is hot and humid in the day. It is uncomfortable to ride a bike.

Instead of adding to the cost of the bike sharing operation, by imposing a licence fee, the authority should subsidize the bike operation by giving a grant for each bike.

This will reduce the cost of using a shared bike to, say $0.20. It should be treated as part of the integrated public transport system.

It is quite common to see regulations that make businesses non viable. These regulations are written by people who are not in touch with the ground.

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