Anywheel
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 | |
 Anywheel bicycle | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation, Micromobility |
| Predecessor | SG Bike |
| Founded | September 22, 2017 in Singapore |
| Founder | Htay Aung |
Area served | Singapore, Thailand |
| Products | Bicycle rental |
| Website | www |
Anywheel[a] is a bike-sharing service founded in Singapore in 2017 by Htay Aung.
Anywheel took over SG Bike's bicycle-operating licence in Singapore in 2024 following its expiration. As of 2024,[update] it was one of two bike-sharing operators, competing with HelloRide, a Chinese company that had operated in Singapore since July 2022. Anywheel is also found internationally, having expanded to Thailand in 2020.
History
[edit]Anywheel was founded in Singapore[2] and was launched on 22 September 2017, World Car-Free Day,[3] by Burmese founder[4] and chief executive officer Htay Aung.[2] Aung was inspired to make an environmentally friendly and profitable business during his final year of business studies at the University of Sydney, when his car's air-conditioning was unable to cool the 43 °C weather in Australia.[3] He started thinking about starting a bike-sharing service after he was stuck in traffic and saw bikers cycle past him.[3] He wanted to supplement the public transport in Singapore, and help users rely less on cars.[3]
In September 2018, Anywheel had a license to operate 1,000 bicycles, increasing to 10,000 in April 2019,[5] 15,000 in July 2020,[6] 30,000 in June 2022,[7] and 35,000 in May 2026.[8] As of 2023[update], it has an average of 200,000 users per month.[9] In 2025, it served two million users in Singapore.[2]
In 2017, SG Bike, another Singaporean bike-sharing company, entered the Singaporean market, taking over Mobike's license.[10] However, on 30 April 2024, they left the Singapore market due to their license expiring, after having made losses such as S$7.4 million in FY2021/2022 and S$5.5 million in FY2020/2021.[11] SG Bike transferred existing users and account balances to Anywheel, and did not impose fees on Anywheel during the takeover process.[11] Anywheel did not re-use SG Bike's bicycles, and they were removed for scrapping.[11]
Following reports of privately chained rental bicycles from various bike-sharing companies, abandonment of bicycles in places like canals and bins, and vandalism of bicycles, the Land Transport Authority regulated haphazard parking and limited the number of bicycles owned by bike-sharing companies.[6] As such, GBikes, oBike, ofo and Share Bike SG stopped operating in Singapore, struggling to comply with the new regulations.[6] HelloRide, a Chinese bike-sharing operator who started operations in Singapore in July 2022,[11] and Anywheel were the only bike-sharing operators in Singapore as of 2024.[update][11]
In 2023,[‡ 1] Anywheel collaborated with SBS Transit for three years to boost off-peak ridership for buses and trains in the Tampines area,[3] allowing reservations of Anywheel bicycles near bus stops through SBS Transit's phone app.[12]
International expansion
[edit]In 2020, Anywheel expanded to Thailand.[3] In March 2026, Anywheel planned to expand to Vietnam, collaborating with Vinhomes, a Vietnamese commercial real estate developer.[3] As of July 2026,[update] it is only available in Singapore and Thailand.[‡ 2]
Product
[edit]Anywheel is a bike-sharing company.[11] As of 2022,[update] most bicycles were deployed in Marina Bay, East Coast, District 9, and the Central Business District.[7] As of 2022,[update] about 60% of trips were between residences and public transport facilities such as Mass Rapid Transit stations and bus stops.[7] As of 2025,[update] it charged S$1 for every 30 minutes of usage.[13]
Anywheel struggled with the battery life of the bicycle locks, as they generated live location data of the bicycle, which was updated in 2019 when they changed their lock design and battery supplier.[14] The live location data was used to combat haphazard parking.[14]
Incidents
[edit]Inappropriate use (2020)
[edit]In April 2020, 234 bicycles were stolen or tampered, and for the six months following it, it received about 40 reports daily due to sightings of personal use of Anywheel's bicycles, such as private chaining or abandonment in alleys and stairways.[15] Plain-clothes officers were deployed to check for proper unlocking of bicycles, and checked for signs of personal locking and tampering.[15] They successfully caught non-conforming users, sending them to the police, taking legal action against them if damages were found, and banning their accounts.[15]
Orchard Road impersonation
[edit]In 2023, scammers in Orchard Road impersonated Anywheel staff to cheat between S$30 to S$50 for Anywheel monthly subscriptions worth S$9.90 from members of the public, ultimately without giving subscription passes.[9] The police and Land Transport Authority were informed, and scam alerts were issued by Anywheel.[9]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]Secondary sources
[edit]- ↑ 黄, 俊贤 (8 December 2020). "每天40共享脚车被锁或占为己有 业者主动出击六小时逮五人". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Tai, Savanna (1 July 2025). "Bike-sharing company HelloRide to expand S'pore fleet to 20,000, roll out bikes with added features". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 1 July 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Koh, Lynette (24 March 2026). "Rolling into the future: Htay Aung, Sustainability Award". Prestige. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- ↑ Choo, Cynthia (4 June 2019). "Entrepreneur buys unused oBike and Ofo bicycles to donate to poor children in Myanmar". CNA. Archived from the original on 1 July 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- ↑ Abdullah, Zhaki (4 April 2019). "Ofo's days look numbered as rivals roll out new fleets". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 1 July 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Wong, Shiying (27 July 2020). "Bicycle-sharing firm Anywheel gets nod to expand fleet to 15,000". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 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.
- ↑ 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.
- 1 2 3 Thian, Wen Li (27 October 2023). "Anywheel issues warning about scammers posing as its staff to cheat people of their money". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 1 July 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- ↑ Lim, Rachel (21 March 2024). "SG Bike to exit bicycle-sharing market after nearly 7 years; user accounts to be transferred to Anywheel". CNA. Archived from the original on 1 July 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Loi, Esther (21 March 2024). "End of road for SG Bike, users to be transferred to bike-sharing rival Anywheel". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 1 July 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- ↑ Lee, Nian Tjoe (10 July 2024). "SBS Transit app lets users reserve shared bikes for first- and last-mile trips". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 3 July 2026. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ Ong, Justin Guan-Xi (17 June 2025). "Bike-sharing is back in Singapore – but can it avoid past pitfalls?". CNA. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- 1 2 "13,000 shared bikes expected by end-2019 as Anywheel takes on expansion". CNA. 11 June 2019. Archived from the original on 2 July 2026. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Bumidin, Qistina (9 December 2020). "Anywheel deals with errant users head-on". AsiaOne. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
Primary sources
[edit]In the text, these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):
- ↑ SBS Transit; Anywheel (2023). "SBS Transit and Anywheel Ink Partnership to Enhance First and Last Mile Connectivity". SBS Transit. Archived from the original on 3 July 2026. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "About Us". Anywheel. Archived from the original on 2 October 2025. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
Headquarters: Singapore, Branch: Thailand