Cycling in Singapore

A segregated cycling and pedestrian path in Toa Payoh

As of 2025, Singapore has 730 km (450 mi) of cycling paths and park connectors across Singapore, serving residential estates and the Central Business District. The National Cycling Plan (NCP) was first announced as part of the 2013 Land Use Plan, with the aim of providing 'a cyclist-friendly, well-connected network providing safe and healthy cycling for all'.[1] In 2020, the Islandwide Cycling Network (ICN) was launched to accelerate the expansion of the cycling network.

History

A National Cycling Plan was first outlined as part of the Urban Redevlopment Authority (URA) Draft Master Plan in 2013, as the government acknowledged the increasing use of cycling as a mode of transport.[2] At that point, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) had rolled out the "Cycling Town" initiative, with 6.4 km dedicated cycling paths already completed in these towns. However, transport minister Lui Tuck Yew vetoed the suggestion of demarcating cycling lanes on roads, claiming that it would lead to more accidents.[3] The National Cycling Plan was adopted into the LTA's 2013 Land Transport Master Plan.[4]

In 2020, the LTA launched the Islandwide Cycling Network (ICN) which was launched as part of efforts to accelerate the development of cycling path networks and active mobility infrastructure.[5]

Infrastructure

The Park Connector Network (PCN) is a network of walking/running/cycling paths that connects the various parks and other green spaces in Singapore. Both the parks and the PCN are managed by National Parks Board (NParks).[6] As of 2025, Singapore has 730 km (450 mi) of cycling paths and park connectors across Singapore, serving residential estates and the Central Business District.[7]

The Bricks: Sport-In-Precinct & Cycle Park

In 2023, a new bicycle park, The Bricks: Sport-In-Precinct & Cycle Park, was announced to be built at Brickland, Choa Chu Kang. A BMX track, sheltered basketball court, fitness corner and playground will be part of the park.

A BMX pump track previously located in Tampines was demolished.[8]

Cycle Sport

The governing organisation for cycle sport in Singapore is the Singapore Cycling Federation. It is national governing body for the promotion and development of the sport of cycling (BikeTrial, BMX, MTB, Road and Track) in Singapore, and is affiliated to the Singapore National Olympic Council, the Asean Cycling Association, the Asian Cycling Confederation and Union Cycliste Internationale.

Legislation

In April 2016, the LTA announced the establishment of a dedicated enforcement team, which would work with the Traffic Police and the National Parks Board, to address reckless behaviour by cyclists and Personal Mobility Device (PMD) users. Around the same time, the government-appointed Active Mobility Advisory Panel introduced a set of rules and a code of conduct to guide the safe and responsible use of bicycles and PMDs.[9][10]

The Active Mobility Act was passed by the Singapore Parliament in January 2017, but enforcement only commenced in May 2018. According to the LTA, they had conducted "safe riding clinics" for users and engaged in dialogues with retailers to help prepare the public for the implementation of the new legislation. Under the Act, Power-assisted bicycles are not allowed on footpaths, while e-scooters are banned from public roads. Speed limits are capped at 15 km/h on footpaths and 25 km/h on park connectors and shared paths. The new law also imposes restrictions on the size and speed of devices permitted on public paths.[11] In May 2019, the LTA reported 3,700 offences committed under the Active Mobility Act.[12]

Under changes to the Active Mobility Act passed on 4 February 2020, stricter penalties were imposed on users of electric scooters, e-bikes, and other active mobility devices, including higher fines and longer jail terms. From April, all motorised PMDs will be prohibited on footpaths. Riders under 16 will also be barred from using e-scooters on public paths unless under adult supervision. Additionally, all e-scooter and e-bike users, including new riders, must pass an online theory test starting in the first half of 2021.[13]

In August 2024, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that all bicycles and personal mobility devices (PMDs) will be banned from pedestrian-only paths from 1 July 2025.[14] Offenders could be fined up to $2,000 or jailed for three months, or both while pedestrians who walked on cycling paths will not be penalised.[14] The enforcement was due to the increased cycling lanes besides footpaths.[14] Pedestrian logos and “pedestrians only” wordings would be printed on footpaths next to the cycling paths.[14]

Bicycle-sharing

HelloRide and Anywheel shared bicycles near Chinese Garden MRT station

Bicycle-sharing in Singapore is regulated by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) through a licencing issuing regime. Around 2018, there were initially few regulations and the sector had grown rapidly to approximately 200,000 bicycles with seven different operators competing for market dominance in the industry. This resulted in widespread nuisance parking of shared bikes sprawled across public footpaths, leading to public unhappiness. To resolve the issue, the LTA announced in March 2018 to roll out new regulations to make operators adhere to stricter rules on fleet sizes and indiscriminate parking. As a result, a number of dockless bicycle operators, including ofo, GBikes, ShareBikeSG, and oBike, were forced to exit the market for failing regulations.[15][16][17][18]

In the second half of 2018, LTA installed QR codes at all designated public bicycle-parking areas to help encourage shared-bicycle users to park their shared bikes correctly. According to the Singaporean authorities, these measures have been effective where it helped improved the rate of users parking properly at the designated parking areas to being over 90%. After SG Bike exited the market in April 2024 after enduring losses in income, there remained only two operators in Singapore's bike-sharing industry, which includes Anywheel and HelloRide. By July 2025, Singapore had a total shared bike fleet of 55,000 bicycles, an increase from 36,000 three years earlier. Of these, Anywheel has 35,000 bicycles and HelloRide has 20,000.[17][18][16]

Events

OCBC Bank organised the yearly OCBC Cycle is an annual mass-participation cycling event held on closed public roads since 2009. The event also hosts the Southeast Asia Speedway Championship which is sanctioned by the Singapore Cycling Federation.[19]

Reception

Che Maohao, a researcher from the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said that the increased accessibility of bicycles can supplement the gaps in Singapore's transport, and encourage investment in cycling infrastructure.[20]

Walter Thereisa, a transport economist from the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said that a government-backed bike-operator monopoly which avoids competition is more preferable, as without regulation on bike-sharing operators, private operators will split the market in Singapore too much and cause unrecoverable overhead costs.[21] and 35,000 in May 2026.[22]

Thereisa said that it is challenging to remain profitable while deploying bicycles in residential areas.[20] In 2025, residents in Singapore, as reported by Channel NewsAsia, said that availability of bicycles were limited in residential areas, especially during peak hours, despite efforts to supply bicycles in residential areas.[20]

Thereisa said that many bicycles may become underused as they end up in areas a distance away from stations, such as factories and offices, due usage for first and last mile connectivity.[20]

Thereisa said that electric mobility, such as rental e-bikes, instead of rental bikes, suits hot Singapore's climate better, but no systems are in place to ensure the safe coexistence of such users.[20] Tham Chen Munn, an urban mobility consultant, says that it will increase the distance of the first and last mile connectivity people are willing to ride.[20]

Tham said that it is unappealing to figure out the rules of where a rider is allowed to ride their bicycle, and users may opt to avoid cycling all together with strict regulations, such as banning bicycles from footpaths beside cycling lanes.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Shin, Huoy Terh; Kai, Cao (2018). "GIS-MCDA based cycling paths planning: a case study in Singapore". Applied Geography. 94: 107–118. Bibcode:2018AppGe..94..107T. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2018.03.007. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  2. ↑ "Draft Master Plan 2013 - Cycling for All". Urban Redevelopment Authority. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  3. ↑ "Speech (Part 2 - Private Transport) by Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Transport, for COS 2012". Ministry of Transport. 7 March 2012. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  4. ↑ "Land Transport Master Plan 2013" (PDF). Land Transport Authority. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  5. ↑ "Factsheet: Islandwide Cycling Network (ICN) Programme to Improve Safety and Connectivity for all Path Users". LTA. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  6. ↑ "Check out the network!". National Parks Board. 29 July 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  7. ↑ Lau, Deborah (9 August 2025). "Can cycling be a preferred transport choice and way of life in Singapore?". CNA. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "蔡厝港添新设施 本地唯一BMX脚踏车游乐赛场落户碧林". Zaobao. 17 April 2023.
  9. ↑ "Enforcement against errant cyclists, PMD users to be stepped up". TODAY. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  10. ↑ "RECOMMENDATIONS ON RULES AND CODE OF CONDUCT FOR CYCLING AND THE USE OF PERSONAL MOBILITY DEVICES" (PDF). Land Transport Authority. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  11. ↑ Toh, Yong Chuan (1 May 2018). "Reckless riders face stiff fines and jail as new law on personal mobility devices kicks in". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  12. ↑ Abdullah, Zhaki (10 May 2019). "More than 3,700 offences committed under Active Mobility Act over past year, says LTA". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  13. ↑ Toh, Ting Wei (4 February 2020). "Parliament: Law passed to raise penalties for active mobility offences; extend e-scooter footpath ban from April". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Footpaths next to cycling lanes to become pedestrian-only; enforcement starts in July 2025". The Straits Times. 14 August 2024. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  15. ↑ "Licence of bike-sharing firm ofo in Singapore suspended: LTA". Yahoo! Yahoo News Singapore. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  16. 1 2 "No longer an eyesore, but are shared bikes a viable commuting option in Singapore?". Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Bike-sharing is back in Singapore – but can it avoid past pitfalls?". CNA. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  18. 1 2 Tan, Willie (18 July 2025). "Singapore's Great Bike-Sharing Comeback: Can It Succeed This Time?". Just Do Green. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "Cambodian cyclists to join Speedway Championship in Singapore". Khmer Times. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ong, Justin Guan-Xi (17 June 2025). "Bike-sharing is back in Singapore – but can it avoid past pitfalls?". CNA. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  21. ↑ Toh, Ting Wei (7 June 2022). "Anywheel to deploy shared bicycles in Ang Mo Kio, Pasir Ris, Punggol and Tampines". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  22. ↑ 黄, 佳琪 (1 July 2026). "本地共享脚踏车车队增5000辆 添新设计优化骑行体验". 联合早报 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 1 July 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.

Citations

This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.