Electric car sharing scheme to hit the roads 12-12-2017

[zipping]

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/electric-car-sharing-scheme-to-hit-the-roads-dec-12-9466622

 

 

Electric car-sharing scheme to hit the roads Dec 12

 

The first fleet of cars for an electric car-sharing scheme will hit the roads next Tuesday (Dec 12). BlueSG, a subsidiary of French transportation firm Bollore Group, said it will deploy 80 vehicles which users can book via the BlueSG mobile app. The app will be available on the App Store and Google Play from Dec 5.

 

 

By Elizabeth Neo @ElizabethNeoCNA

04 Dec 2017 02:21PM (Updated: 04 Dec 2017 10:31PM )

 

 

SINGAPORE: The first fleet of cars for an electric car-sharing scheme will hit the roads next Tuesday (Dec 12).

 

BlueSG, a subsidiary of French transportation firm Bollore Group, said it will deploy 80 vehicles which users can book via the BlueSG mobile app. The app will be available on the App Store and Google Play from Dec 5.

 

The company signed an agreement with the Land Transport Authority and the Economic Development Board last year to develop the electric car-sharing programme, which will see 1,000 electric cars deployed in stages.

 

Rentals will be charged based on duration instead of distance, and users can choose from two subscription plans.

 

Under the premium yearly membership plan, priced at S$15 a month, subscribers are charged S$0.33 per minute for a minimum booking of 15 minutes.

 

The weekly membership plan does not charge a recurring fee and users will pay S$0.50 per minute for a minimum duration of 15 minutes.

 

Users will be able to book the electric cars via a mobile app. (Photo: BlueSG)

 

“We are excited about the impending official launch in Singapore, as it is the world’s second biggest electric vehicle car-sharing programme after Paris," said BlueSG managing director Franck Vitte in a news release.

 

He told Channel NewsAsia separately that the pricing is "relatively consistent" with that of other cities in which the company operates. "We are confident that it is going to be quite successful," he said.

 

The company also has a presence in Los Angeles, London, Turin and several French cities.

 

In Singapore, a total of 30 BlueSG stations offering 120 charging points will be rolled out islandwide by the end of this year. 

 

Of these, 18 stations will be located in public housing estates including Tampines, Bishan and Punggol, while 10 stations will be in the city centre and its fringes and two others will be within the industrial and commercial estates at one-north and the Science Park.

 

By 2020, the company intends to have a fleet of 1,000 electric vehicles and 2,000 charging points, Mr Vitte said, adding that third-party cars will be allowed to tap on the charging points then.

 

"If it becomes even more successful then we will discuss with the authorities, with the Government whether we have to deploy more cars or more charging points,” he added.

 

The new car-sharing initiative was welcomed by one industry observer who said it will introduce more Singaporeans to the idea of electric cars. 

 

"What it will help is to establish a network of charging points which has probably been a prohibitor in the past, and also show the economics of owning an electric car versus a normal car," said Mr Richard Skinner, strategy leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore.

 

He added: “A couple of reasons why we haven't seen that many electric cars in Singapore is probably the lack of subsidies we have in Singapore. So in China, in Europe, in the United States, to establish the electric cars initially, there were quite strong subsidies. And at the same time there was also help in building the connecting points."

 

Those interested to rent an electric car can sign up and register on BlueSG's website.

 

Source: CNA/nc

Edited December 4, 2017 by zipping

[kdash]

looking forward to see how successful this program is... 

[Jman888]

not many car and station YET.

 

[Kurumanbo]

Not cheap though. With the annual membership, you are paying about $20 per hour; $30 for normal membership. Normally, pple book at least 2 hours as 1 hr is really too short for anything. If pple can get a daily rental car for ard $70, why will someone pay 1/4 or 1/2 the price for such a short usage.

[kdash]

Not cheap though. With the annual membership, you are paying about $20 per hour; $30 for normal membership. Normally, pple book at least 2 hours as 1 hr is really too short for anything. If pple can get a daily rental car for ard $70, why will someone pay 1/4 or 1/2 the price for such a short usage.

 

if thats the case then they have to sell the convenience... something like the bike sharing currently... 

[Kurumanbo]

if thats the case then they have to sell the convenience... something like the bike sharing currently... 

Then they will need to compete against the incumbent like Tribecar and Smove. Well, assuming they only charge for the time usage and no cost on the charging, then that will be their trump card against them liao. As though the petrol car companies charge lesser per unit of time, the user still needs to pay for their own petrol. 2 hr of driving can be anything from $5 to even $20 of fuel charges.

 

And also whether they allow their cars to return to other carparks, as that will really boost the convenience factor.

[JQ01]

I quite understand the rates. It is suppose to pick A return B usage. You just need it for the journey itself. So a comparable taxi/grab/uber rate but self drive. 

[Eyke]

No Teslas?

[Benarsenal]

Not cheap though. With the annual membership, you are paying about $20 per hour; $30 for normal membership. Normally, pple book at least 2 hours as 1 hr is really too short for anything. If pple can get a daily rental car for ard $70, why will someone pay 1/4 or 1/2 the price for such a short usage.

 

I think the purpose is really for those who need a car for a few hours a day. But that said, you're right, the rates are a bit high.

[DACH]

I think the more important aspect is the charging stations rather than the cars.

This could be a start up for more people to own electric cars once the charging infrastructure becomes more widely available.

[gandyman]

Now you know, why tesla could not come here...

[Kurumanbo]

I quite understand the rates. It is suppose to pick A return B usage. You just need it for the journey itself. So a comparable taxi/grab/uber rate but self drive. 

Think the cost of setting up the charging stations also additional sunken cost for them. Compared to the petrol car companies who just need to pay season parking. Well, for the sg govt, they are definitely welcome here to set up the infra for us:)

[kdash]

Think the cost of setting up the charging stations also additional sunken cost for them. Compared to the petrol car companies who just need to pay season parking. Well, for the sg govt, they are definitely welcome here to set up the infra for us:)

 

bobian, garment definitely has to step in with the infra setup. just hoping that if this is successful, it will pave the way for more charging stations and more electric cars sold in SG as private cars. 

[Soya]

Does it mean I can park it anywhere I want like on pavements, grass verges, void deck, hdb corridors, longkang like bike sharing n LTA continue to close one eye?

[kdash]

Does it mean I can park it anywhere I want like on pavements, grass verges, void deck, hdb corridors, longkang like bike sharing n LTA continue to close one eye?

 

hahah i believe there would be allocated parking lots, most likely at the charging stations. 

 

rental petrol cars are currently parked at HDB MSCPs if i'm not wrong... 

[Soya]

hahah i believe there would be allocated parking lots, most likely at the charging stations.

 

rental petrol cars are currently parked at HDB MSCPs if i'm not wrong...

I want it to succeed.

 

But something tells me it will be a flop when the cars run outta elec juice becoz previous user never bother to recharge, charging point kena hog by ppl who park their petrol cars there n go lim kopi, charging points dun work coz maintenance falsified, etc.....

[Jman888]

I want it to succeed.

 

But something tells me it will be a flop when the cars run outta elec juice becoz previous user never bother to recharge, charging point kena hog by ppl who park their petrol cars there n go lim kopi, charging points dun work coz maintenance falsified, etc.....

 

 

if the T&C to complete a usage is to hook up to the charging terminal in order to sign out, then i think it can minimize car not been charge.

 

so far my experience using carclub and smove, the designated lots reserved (in MSCP or malls) for these vehicle usually were not been abused, no other car will park there.

[Terrylmt]

Well - that suddenly happened.

 

Consistent with everything else these days, the amount of proactive education - i.e. how to use, charge, rent electric vehicles, as well as proper usage etiquette is lacking here. Yes, we can say that most Singaporeans are well-educated and should have the ability to do "the right thing".

 

But based on what we see from the reckless driver threads, as well as the possibility that these services to have stronger adoption by foreign PR/talents, how can we be certain? The answer is that we can't.

 

Sometimes it only takes a few black sheep to create problems for the larger community and kill a potentially excellent program/system even before it can grow to puberty. And the lack of awareness/education will be its potential downfall. Like what @Soya mentioned, we could see people not returning vehicles properly with all the charging points attached, etc.

 

Regarding the charges, it does make sense from a "final mile" perspective. You will use this for that grocery run from the supermarket to get home (assuming that you went public to get there) and it helps prevent you from lugging all those bags up a bus or MRT. Hence they have a 15 minute minimum booking - think about it, you can reach most destinations in Singapore within 15 minutes.

 

While I personally feel that while this program has the potential to be very successful, I would say that I am cautiously optimistic and hope that Singaporeans can embrace this "new" format of car-sharing. We need to shed the old mentality than we rent a car to continually (maximise) use for a fixed period, but regard it as an alternative mode of transportation (i.e. from a journey perspective).

 

I apologise if my thoughts are somewhat messy, but trying to keep it short and readable whilst still covering the key thoughts that I have.

 

Just my humble tuppence