On Friday afternoon, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that plans for a national bike-sharing scheme have been scrapped. The LTA met and informed representatives from the 13 companies that had submitted bids to inform them that the scheme, which was originally slated to launch at the end of this year, will not go ahead as planned.

The winning firm was to have operated a fleet of about 2,330 bicycles in the Jurong Lake District, Marina Bay, Tampines and Pasir Ris. However, Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng said earlier this month that the authorities were assessing whether to proceed with plans for a national scheme.

The news comes after three bike-sharing companies - local venture oBike, as well as ofo and Mobike, both from China - set up shop in Singapore within the first three months of 2017. The three bike-share providers here have thousands of bikes available at various locations islandwide. Unlike traditional bike-sharing schemes, the two-wheelers are dockless and paid for using mobile apps.