Anywheel expands its fleet of shared bicycles to 35,000 in S’pore

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority has given local bike-sharing company Anywheel permission to add another 5,000 units to its fleet, expanding its total fleet size to 35,000 shared bikes.

The decision follows Anywheel’s robust business growth in recent years: as of February 2024, the bicycle sharing company has more than 1.3 million users and has seen the number of passengers grow month-on-month over the past four years.

The addition of these 5,000 units extends Anywheel’s lead as Singapore’s largest bike-sharing company in terms of fleet size, years after the dominant players of the first wave went bankrupt.

At its peak, there were nine bike-sharing companies operating in Singapore, offering a total of more than 200,000 bike-shares, but the bike-sharing landscape quickly saw a decline with indiscriminate parking and vandalism running rampant.

On the operator side, things have been just as messy, with several companies making some dramatic exits, from bankruptcies to ceasing operations.

Besides Anywheel, the only other bike-sharing operator currently operating in the Singapore market is Alibaba-backed HelloRide, with a fleet size of 10,000 shared bikes.

Anywheel will be net profitable from February 2023

Founded in 2017 by Htay Aung, Anywheel offers first- and last-mile transportation options. In an interview with Technology in Asia in February, Aung said the company “has been net profitable since February 2023.”

He added that the company was started from scratch, allowing it to “grow organically.” However, the company plans to raise funds by the middle of this year to help with its expansion plans.

Currently, Anywheel operates in Singapore and select cities in Thailand, but by the third quarter of 2024 it aims to launch in a third Southeast Asian country, while also exploring a fourth market outside the region.

The next bike rollout will include new user-focused features, including smart locks, in response to customer concerns about theft risks. The smart lock allows users to lock and unlock bikes via the Anywheel app, eliminating the need for manual locks.

In addition to its bike-sharing services, where it charges S$1 for a 30-minute ride, the company also generates revenue from advertising, a major source of income for foreign players in the bike-sharing space. Anywheel’s advertising rates range from S$15 to S$100 per bike per month.

Featured image credits: Anywheel