Why use public funds to accommodate rental bikes?

I am glad that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has finally woken up to the problem of illegally parked shared bicycles (Need to moderate growth of shared bicycles; July 4).

However, I am perturbed by Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min's comment that the LTA is working with other agencies to increase bicycle-parking capacity, and that the Government is working with the bike-sharing firms to ensure the bicycle population is "commensurate with the availability of public parking places".

Bike-sharing firms are profit-oriented ventures. Why should public funds and resources be used to build additional parking spaces for them to use for free?

The existing business model is clearly unsustainable. The LTA should take appropriate action to prevent further damage.

Patrick Tan Siong Kuan

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 06, 2017, with the headline Why use public funds to accommodate rental bikes?. Subscribe