E-scooter services in talks to come to NUS in early 2018

A lone faulty e-scooter sits at the station in NTU HSS, October 17, 2017. Students tell the Campus Eye that the stations usually have more e-scooters but evenings are the peak period for e-scooters as they are used by students rushing for evening classes. The e-scooter sharing scheme is currently free for all to use in NTU thus a popular mode of transport amongst students. CAMPUS EYE/Lee Wenxin (SINGAPORE)

By Lee Wenxin

SINGAPORE, Oct 19 (Campus Eye) – Homegrown e-scooter start-up Telepod is in talks with the Office of Facilities Management (OFM) from University Campus Infrastructure (UCI) to bring e-scooters to the National University of Singapore (NUS) campus, by early 2018, in a bid to provide alternatives for travel between classes and to alleviate bus overcrowding issues.

“We are still reviewing it, but in the long term we are trying to get it implemented on a large scale, if we can approve the safety and operation issues,” said Deputy Director of OFM, Foo Siang Chi, who oversees the project. This is part of the greenway concept project lead by UCI.

Telepod has been rolled out in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) earlier this year in July and response has been positive. Telepod’s marketing officer, Shakir Othman, reports that the rides average 1000 a day for the 20 scooters placed in NTU.

Students in NUS can look forward to trials being set up in NUS soon. A one-day trial was done late September this year to gauge the demand for e-scooters in NUS.

Telepod currently charges $0.09/min for a ride. It is working to develop a more affordable student concession pricing scheme where students pay a fixed sum per month for the service.

WORKING TOWARDS AN E-SCOOTER FRIENDLY INFRASTRUCTURE

However, the infrastructure in NUS is currently not ready to accommodate e-scooters as e-scooters are only allowed on cycling paths and footpaths.

Hence, UCI is working on expanding the school’s infrastructure in the next one year to become more e-scooter friendly to avoid congestion and accidents.

Immediate steps have been taken to adjust the infrastructure such as widening all existing footpaths to allow space for e-scooter travel and adding ramps down the curb. More connectors from Kent Ridge MRT to the school are also being added.

CONCERNS OVER USER BEHAVIOUR

Dr Lee Der-Horng, a NUS professor who specializes in urban transportation planning, raises concern over user behaviour and warns against accidents and theft.

“Reckless riders may hit pedestrians and be a nuisance on footpaths,” said Dr Lee.

To prevent unruly user behaviour, the Telepod application has safety messages displayed to all users before usage. Roadshows are also organized to educate the public about e-scooter etiquette.

In case of theft, Telepod has developed a GPS-based technology to better track the scooter.

Just three months ago, a Telepod e-scooter was stolen but the team managed to recover it with their e-scooter tracking technology.

MIXED REACTIONS TO E-SCOOTERS

“I still have very strong reservations,” Dr Lee said on e-scooters being a game changer. “Main reason is because of campus is very hilly and we do not have sufficient infrastructure (as of now).”

However, he acknowledged that the e-scooters could be part of the basket of transport solutions provided. “We do not just rely on one solution. There should be multiple transport options to suit each person’s needs,” said Dr Lee.

On the other hand, a Computer Science student in NUS who has declined to be named is optimistic after having tried the e-scooters during the trial.

“I've never used an e-scooter before and it was fairly easy to pick up after reading the instructions,” she said. “It was a fun way to travel at night because there weren't many people using the pathway.”

GREENWAY CONCEPT IN NUS

The e-scooters are part of a bigger plan to incorporate greener ways of travel in NUS. The long term multi-million dollars project started in 2015 and is set to be done over a period of around 20 years.

UCI is now working on linking pathways to enable the riding of e-scooters and cycling without going on roads.