oBike launches Singapore’s first islandwide geofencing feature

oBike announced today that its geofencing feature which covers over 1100 parking zones, across 150 bus-stops, 50 MRT stations and more than 800 yellow boxes islandwide, has gone ‘live’ on its app. Defined by blue polygonal shapes and “P” indicators in the oBike app, these virtual parking zones will enable users to identify and park their bikes at designated bike-parking zones more accurately.

The launch of geofencing is part of the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Land Transport Authority and oBike, that aims to reinforce gracious cycling etiquettes and responsible parking behaviour.

Edward Chen, co-founder of oBike said, “As Singapore’s first homegrown bike-sharing company, we are pleased to be the first to roll out our geofencing feature across Singapore. Since our official launch in April this year, we have seen a marked improvement in the way users handle and park our bikes. However, more can be done to educate users on the proper ways of returning their bikes. That is why we are offering a six-month trial for users to familiarise themselves with the new feature. Our aim is to nudge users into positive bike-sharing behaviour and ultimately shape a more gracious cycling community.”

·
oBike introduces geofencing
features to its app with the goal of promoting responsible parking behaviour

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Six-month trial period for
users before penalty system kicks in

SINGAPORE, 27 October 2017 – oBike, Singapore’s first homegrown smart
stationless bike-sharing company, announced today that its geofencing feature
which covers over 1100 parking zones, across 150 bus-stops, 50 MRT stations and
more than 800 yellow boxes islandwide, has gone ‘live’ on its app. Defined by blue
polygonal shapes and “P” indicators in the oBike app, these virtual parking
zones will enable users to identify and park their bikes at designated
bike-parking zones more accurately.

The launch of
geofencing is part of the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed
between the Land Transport Authority and oBike, that aims to reinforce gracious
cycling etiquettes and responsible parking behaviour. To ensure a higher degree
of accuracy, oBike will launch and complete its beacon geofencing by the second
quarter of next year.

Geofencing is a
technology that determines if the bicycles are parked in designated parking
zones. It acts as a virtual boundary that alerts the entering and exiting of
bicycles in an area. Users will be notified when they enter a geofenced area to
park the bike. To ensure comprehensive coverage, oBike will continue to cover
more areas virtually and via beacon geofencing in phases.

There are over 1100
parking zones in Singapore that can be found next to bus stops, at HDB void decks
and in parks. Many of these parking zones are easily identifiable by yellow
boxes although some parking zones are virtual and can only be viewed on the app.
These parking zones are indicated in the mobile application, by the letter ‘P’,
and users are required to cycle to any of these designated parking zone to park
their bicycles.

For a period of
six months, users who do not park their bicycles within the designated bicycle
parking zones or within the geofenced areas, will receive a notification in the
app to inform them that their bikes have not been parked properly. After the
trial period, 10 Points will be deducted from users who do not park within the
geofenced areas each time. Recalcitrant users will not be allowed to use the
service when they reach 0 Points.

Likewise, users
who exhibit responsible riding behaviour, like parking within geofenced areas,
will be incentivised with oBike Credit Points. These Points are accumulated and
can be used to exchange for a range of rewards such as lifestyle products,
shopping vouchers and hotel stays, starting from as low as 500 Points.

Edward Chen,
co-founder of oBike said, “As Singapore’s first homegrown bike-sharing company,
we are pleased to be the first to roll out our geofencing feature across
Singapore. Since our official launch in April this year, we have seen a marked
improvement in the way users handle and park our bikes. However, more can be
done to educate users on the proper ways of returning their bikes. That is why
we are offering a six-month trial for users to familiarise themselves with the
new feature. Our aim is to nudge users into positive bike-sharing behaviour and
ultimately shape a more gracious cycling community.”

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END –

oBike is
Southeast Asia’s first smart bike-sharing company which aims to become the next
generation transportation company designed for first- and last-mile commuting.
oBike’s mission is to make environmentally friendly transportation affordable,
available and accessible by everyone and everywhere.

oBike
first launched in Singapore as the country’s first station-less smart
bike-sharing operator, and has since expanded to over 30 cities in 10 countries
worldwide in under a year. The company has made cycling a convenient, fun and
environmentally-friendly commute option to more than 2 million users across
Southeast Asia alone.

For more
details, please visit https://o.bike/. The oBike App is currently available on the App Store and Google Play.