SINGAPORE: Before the pandemic, long queues outside Mr Joe Chua's bicycle rental shop were so common that he marked boxes on the floor with black tape to keep customers orderly.They weren't just waiting to rent bicycles, but for them to be returned."There would be zero bicycles in the shop," said the 62-year-old owner. "People would be queuing to wait for the bicycles to come back."Today, those black tape markings are slowly peeling off. Inside Jomando, his bicycle rental shop facing Punggol Beach, around 200 bicycles sit idle.
As bike-sharing operators have expanded their fleets and parking zones, traditional rental shops have struggled to compete. Mr Chua has seen rental demand fall by 80 to 90 per cent.Many customers now opt for bike-sharing because it is cheaper and lets them return bicycles at designated parking spots across the island.Renting from a shop like Jomando costs about S$10 (US$7.80) an hour, while bike-sharing operators Anywheel and HelloRide charge S$2 and S$2.50 respectively for the same time."Bike rental shops, retail shops, repair shops, they've all been affected by bike-sharing," Mr Chua told CNA, adding that business has been poor for the past three years."Outside of the school holidays, (rental is) zero. I'm here, I can tell you, every day is zero," he said, noting how he earns less than S$600 on most weekends. "I have lost about S$250,000. I dig into my pocket to pay rent."
