Dockless e-scooter sharing services coming to one-north
An e-scooter rider spotted outside One North MRT Station. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — With the launch of dockless e-scooter sharing services this Friday, those working around the one-north business district will be able to save time — and energy — during their commutes.
Local start-up Telepod and German firm Floatility will be the first personal mobility device (PMD) operators to come on board in the initial phase of the launch, said the district’s master planner JTC yesterday. With the e-scooters to be located at Biopolis, Fusionopolis, Mediapolis and JTC LaunchPad @ one-north, users will be able to sign up and unlock the PMDs via a mobile app.
JTC’s chief executive officer Png Cheong Boon said that, by making the “last-mile connectivity convenient and attractive, it will further encourage one-northers to use public transport and these shared mobility services, bringing one-north a step closer to becoming a car-lite estate.”
For instance, a PMD user would be able to travel between one-north MRT Station and Infinite Studios in about five minutes, compared with about 12 minutes if he covers the same distance on foot.
JTC is currently in talks with other operators to implement their services in one-north. All potential operators will implement a dockless system that will connect the key destinations in various precincts within the estate.
To gear up for more PMDs being used in one-north, footpaths will be widened to create a dedicated two-metre-wide PMD path alongside existing footpaths, or shared paths of two-and-a-half metres wide.
Sheltered linkways will also be built, and there will be dedicated parking zones for shared PMDs so that they can be parked in an orderly manner.
These zones will be located in JTC’s buildings in one-north, such as Fusionopolis One and Nanos at Biopolis.
JTC is also seeking the assistance of private developers to introduce similar parking zones for their buildings in the estate.
Operators will be required to impose monetary disincentives on the users of the sharing service who do not return the PMDs to the designated parking zones after use. JTC said it will also reserve the right to remove or dispose PMDs that are not parked in the zones. Toh Ee Ming
