Singaporean bike-sharing start-up oBike on Saturday launched its services in Taitung.
The first public bike rental system in the east coast city consists of 500 bicycles and another 500 are to be added in the near future, Taitung County Government official Yu Ming-hsun (余明勳) said.
Users can use oBike’s cycles free of charge over the next two weeks, after which the firm is to start charging NT$2 for every 15 minutes.
Its cycles can be found in 10 locations including Taitung Railway Station, Tiehua Music Village, Taitung County Stadium and Taitung Forest Park.
The bike-sharing company was launched in Singapore in January and expanded to Malaysia’s Klang Valley last month, according to a report on the Independent Singapore Web site.
The Taitung service requires a one-time deposit fee,but the fee is just NT$1, oBike Taiwan contract manager Wang Yen-ting (王妍婷) said, compared with the 109 ringgit (US$25) it charges in Malaysia.
After the deposit is paid, a bike-sharing app shows the user where free bikes are located around the city. They simply need to scan the QR Code and the number to unlock a bike.
After using a bike, the client parks it in a public location and locks it up, making the bike available for the next user.
The company is positioning its bikes as an option for traveling short distances. It says it has “several tens of thousands” of riders using its app in Singapore and Malaysia, according to the Independent Singapore Web site report.
The company has also placed 250 bicycles on the campus of National Dong Hwa University in Hualien County for a 30-day trial.
It plans to expand to other Taiwanese cities and counties, and it has contacted the Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Keelung and Miaoli County governments, as well as holding talks with local authorities in Thailand and Australia, Wang said.
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