BlueSG reaches its one millionth rental

Electric-car sharing service BlueSG has hit one million vehicle rentals since the programme started in 2017.

BlueSG now has around 80,000 subscribers paying from $8 a month to use one of its 667 Bluecars, it said yesterday.

The firm is supported by the Land Transport Authority and the Economic Development Board.

Despite a dip in membership and rentals during the circuit breaker period, BlueSG recorded strong growth after Singapore's reopening from June 2, the company said.

The 667 cars in its fleet are rented about 100,000 times a month with 4,000 subscriptions added every month, said BlueSG managing director Franck Vitte.

He added that surveys show that its users are renting cars occasionally, as a complement to public transport, which was the initial objective.

The firm launched two new subscription plans last December which have been successful.

One is a premium six-month membership plan at $18 a month with 45 minutes of monthly free use and a basic membership at $8 a month. Both plans have a rental rate of 33 cents a minute.

BlueSG has other rental packages for longer rides at cheaper rates - a three-hour deal at $39.90 and a five-hour one at $49.90.

Number of Bluecars

Number of charging stations

Number of charging points

Number of subscriptions since its launch in 2017

Number of rentals since 2017

Number of rentals a month

Number of new subscriptions a month

It has 345 charging stations with 1,371 charging points islandwide in public housing estates, industrial buildings, shopping malls, Changi Airport, Sentosa and the city centre.

There are 239 charging points across 60 stations open to electric-vehicle owners at a one-time fee of $20. These cost $1 an hour for the first three hours and then $2 an hour.

"With a significant number of stations located in popular and convenient locations, BlueSG has now become a credible alternative to private car ownership," said Mr Vitte.