BM Mobility launches first electric bike-sharing service in Malaysia

Ann Williams
Published Wed, Aug 8, 2018 · 04:50 AM

MAINBOARD-LISTED BM Mobility Ltd has launched the first electric bike-sharing service in Malaysia at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, using its own brand of bicycles, Revgo.

The company, formerly called Ziwo Holdings, already provides charging equipment and solutions for electric vehicles in China, and operates an electric car-sharing service in Malaysia.

Some 170 Revgo bikes have been rolled out, the company said in a Singapore Exchange filing during Wednesday's market lunch break. Each bike weighs about 40 kg and travels at a speed of up to 20 km an hour and as far as 50 km on a full charge.

Since its soft launch in July during the university semester break when there were about 2,000 students on campus, Revgo has garnered about 1,000 registered members, said BM Mobility. The university has more than 21,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The campus has eight designated parking sites for the bikes and two charging stations, each of which can charge 24 batteries at a time. The company monitors the battery life of the bikes in real time using its proprietary app and will swap the batteries for fresh ones on-site when they are low on power.

Bookings for the bikes are made through a smartphone app developed by BM Mobility. Payment is through e-wallets, credit cards or debit cards. Users will continue to be charged if they fail to return the two-wheelers to the designated parking sites on campus, as part of efforts to prevent the bikes from obstructing common areas and from being stolen or abused.

Revgo operates under Malaysia-based UNiRIDE Ecotour Sdn Bhd, a car-sharing business BM Mobility acquired early this year. UNiRIDE runs a fleet of Perodua Axia, Malaysia's first energy-efficient car, in University of Malaya and three other universities. It has exclusive rights to operate in the four universities, which collectively have more than a quarter of a million students, said BM Mobility.

BM Mobility said it intends to introduce the Revgo bike-sharing service to other universities in Malaysia. It is also considering potential collaborations with establishments such as holiday resorts and even growing RevgoTM through franchising.

Fadzili Bin Ahmad Shiyuti, UNiRIDE's CEO, said: "Our electric bicycle sharing service may have just started, but we are hopeful of scaling this up fairly quickly as we believe there is demand for environmentally friendly and cost-effective personal transport. The response from the university students so far has been very encouraging."

KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE

BT is now on Telegram!

For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to  t.me/BizTimes

Companies & Markets

SUPPORT SOUTH-EAST ASIA'S LEADING FINANCIAL DAILY

Get the latest coverage and full access to all BT premium content.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Browse corporate subscription here