SINGAPORE - The Land Transport Authority (LTA) impounded 70 shared bicycles in July, bringing the total number impounded this year to 278.

The bicycles were impounded because they were "parked indiscriminately and not removed within the notice period", LTA said in a post on its Facebook page on Thursday (Aug 3).

The bicycles impounded this year comprised 212 from Singapore-based oBike, and 65 from China-based firm Mobike. Just one was from ofo, another Chinese firm.

In its Facebook post, LTA said it will continue to work with dockless bicycle-sharing operators, town councils and others to encourage a "responsible bike-sharing culture".

The authority reminded users to park in designated parking spaces so that the bicycles can be found easily, and any obstruction and inconvenience to pedestrians is minimised.

In Parliament last month, Senior Minister of State (Transport and Health) Lam Pin Min said bike-sharing firms will have to moderate the growth of their fleets.

Dr Lam added that if these firms get a notice from LTA to remove an indiscriminately parked bicycle and fail to do so within half a day, they will be fined.

There are now about 30,000 shared bicycles in Singapore.