SETIA ALAM: Cycling is a healthy pastime, but not everyone has bicycles to cycle.
However, you can now cycle easily at public places, cities, parks without even having to own a bike.
Global bike-sharing company Mobike is making its presence in Malaysia with unique dockless bicycles that people can rent and start a healthy lifestyle.
For a start, the China-based company has partnered with property developer SP Setia Bhd to place its bikes at the latter's townships.
The company will place several hundred of its high-tech bikes at strategic locations at Setia Alam and Setia Eco Park in Shah Alam.
Mobike's vice-president of international expansion, Chris Martin said the company is truly excited to be partnering with SP Setia Bhd to bring its customised smart bike-share service to Malaysia.
"We see that Malaysia is embarking on an exciting and ambitious path to achieve an efficient, integrated, and sustainable public transport system. We envision that Mobike’s dockless and convenient bike-sharing service will grow in tandem with the nation’s push to redefine the transportation sector’s environmental impact for a sustainable and well-connected country,” he said at Mobike's launch in Setia Alam.
Malaysia is the third country in the Southeast Asian region to welcome Mobike’s operations, after the company announced the start of services in Thailand last month, and continues to grow operations in Singapore since March of this year.
"Soon, we plan to move out to other parts within this year to central KL and other parts of Malaysia," says Martin.
Mobike currently has presence in 170 cities worldwide, such as Manchester with 1,000 bikes, Florence with 4,000 bikes and Milan with 8,000 units.
HIGH TECH FEATURES
Mobikes are designed with proprietary high-tech features that benefit both users and partner cities.
Every Mobike is equipped with unique smart-lock technology and built-in GPS connected via the Mobike IoT network. This allows for tracking the location and monitoring the health of each bike, as well as location-based demands for bikes in real-time, to intelligently manage supply and help solve the “last-mile” challenge.
"Big data collected and analysed by Mobike’s “Magic Cube” AI platform can help city planners and managers leverage a wealth of insight for smarter, more optimised operations and infrastructure. This is a vital feature for cities, which no other bike-sharing company provides," says Martin.
USING THE SERVICE
In order to use Mobike's bikes, users need to download the Mobike app from App Store or Google Play, and register. A fully-refundable deposit of RM99 will have to be placed, but there is currently a promotional rate of RM9 for the deposit. Also, to celebrate its launch in Malaysia, Mobike is providing one free month of services in September.
Following the promotional period, Mobike users can enjoy rides at the affordable rate of RM1.50 for every 30 minutes.