After its debut in Setia Alam just last month, Mobike, the first and largest smart bike-sharing platform in the world has raced into Cyberjaya. The dockless bike-share service’s entry into the smart city is in partnership with Cyberview Sdn Bhd, the technology hub enabler, and Mastercard, the global payments platform.
Mobike’s expansion into Cyberjaya has the full support of the Sepang Municipal Council, the local authority responsible for providing service and amenities to all Sepang townfolk.
The support of local authorities is crucial. If you can recall, rival bike-sharing service Obike hit a snag with the local authority (Petaling Jaya Municipal Council, or MPPJ) recently. Bikes that were not properly parked were confiscated.
Being a nascent industry, there isn’t proper local laws and regulations to support these bike-sharing services. Therefore, dialogue and communication between all relevant parties are crucial to move things forward.
Hence, Mobike’s approach to expansion in Malaysia involves working closely with local businesses (like developers), authorities and government to better serve the unique needs of each market.
Currently, its rollout strategy involves working with townships, as seen with its partnership with SP Setia last month, and now Cyberview.
One thing is for sure, bike-sharing services are here to stay and have the potential to bring positive social-economy impact to local communities and businesses.
The last mile
Bike-sharing services like Mobike attempt to solve “last mile” connectivity, bridging gaps in the public transport system.
This is in line with the National Land Public Transport Master Plan to integrate all land public transport modes to provide users with a safe, reliable and sustaintable land public transport system.
Cyberjaya’s aspiration to be a Global Technology Hub as well as a sustainable smart city is the perfect host for pilot projects like Mobike. This is also aided by its world-class infrastructure and strong governmental support.
The model smart township also has 17km of dedicated bike lanes to support cyclists.
Sanjey Chandra, country manager of Mobike Malaysia revealed that there are several hundred bikes available in strategic locations around the township to better serve commuters.
He was quick to point out that it isn’t about the number of bikes available, but leveraging IoT and big data analytics to identify usage hotspots and gauge demand.
Mobike’s partnership with Mastercard and Cyberview complements Malaysia’s five-year development plan, with a key focus being the building of sustainable cities.
Mastercard provides Masterpass, its digital payment system which is integrated into Mobike’s mobile app. According to the Mastercard Mobile Shopping Survey 2017, over half of Malaysians make payments via mobile phones.
The adoption of digital payment systems in the country is growing, supported by high mobile device penetration. While we’re far from a truly cashless society (countries like China are heading in that direction), digital solutions like Masterpass will help push the country towards that goal.
Redefining urban transport
As a recap, Mobike is a re-imagination and delivery of personal urban transport. A brainchild of Hu Weiwei, the pioneer bike-sharing service grew from one city (Shanghai) in April 2016, to an astonishing 170 cities globally in just over a year.
It has hit over 100 million registered riders, recording over 25 million rides per day. It operates over 7 million bikes and generates over 20TB of data on Mobike’s proprietary big data platform called Magic Cube.
It’s an incredible startup story, and it gets better. The company plans to increase its daily production to 100,000 units, with an annual production capacity of 10 million bikes.
The connected bike
The bike itself is an engineering marvel. It features innovations like chainless shaft transmission, non-puncture airless tires, a lightweight and highly durable aluminium anti-rust frame, disk brakes and five-spoke wheels. These elements translate into an almost maintenance-free bike, with an estimated lifespan of around four years of fix-free cycling.
Each bike has a GPS-embedded smart lock that connects to the Mobike IoT network. The connectivity module, built by Foxconn by the way, enables users to use the Mobike mobile app to unlock the bike.
Start cycling
To use the service, you simply need to fire up the app, locate a bike on GPS, scan the QR code on the bike. The bike will unlock in a couple of seconds and then you can be on your way. Once you’re done with your ride, you can park the bike at any authorised bike parking area and manually close the lock on the bike to end the ride.
The app will track the distance of your ride as well as calories burnt and the carbon emissions you’ve saved.
Register today with a one-time refundable deposit at a limited-time promo rate of MYR9 (official pricing at MYR99). Mobike is providing one-month of free rides for the month of October. After in which, it defaults to an affordable rate of MYR1.50 for every 30 minutes. Payment is via a registered credit or debit card.
Download the app here:
Currently in English, a Bahasa Malaysia version will be ready by the end of the year.
