Bicycle-sharing Programme for Sunsuria

PETALING JAYA: Property developer Sunsuria Bhd (Sunsuria) through its subsidiaries — Sunsuria City Sdn Bhd and Sunsuria Gateway Sdn Bhd — has signed a joint venture with Oride (M) Sdn Bhd to initiate a Bicycle-sharing Programme for the Sunsuria City integrated township development located in Putrajaya South, Salak Tinggi.

The partnership will see this programme undertaken by a private company under the name Sunsuria Oride Sdn Bhd (SOSB), whereby Sunsuria and Oride will have a 70:30 interest, respectively.

Sunsuria CEO Koong Wai Seng said the group is pleased to embark on this partnership and it will definitely benefit the public, the students of Xiamen University and the residents of Sunsuria City.

The programme allows users to rent bicycles from designated bicycle stations that will be situated around the 520-acre township. The first phase, which is expected to roll out in the first quarter of next year, will see three stations built with a total cost of between RM300,000 and RM400,000.

“Our first bicycle station will be at the Salak Tinggi Express Rail Link (ERL) station. Visitors will be greeted by bicycles once they exit the station. Imagine the convenience it will bring for users as they will be able to cycle around our township such as to our six-acre park up north in Sunsuria City,” said Koong at the media presentation on the programme yesterday.

Sunsuria City has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM10 billion and comprises residential, mixed commercial, commercial and transit-oriented developments. There will a proposed school, a recreational park, the Xiamen University campus and an outlet mall.

The programme will be rolled out with the introduction of bicycle and pedestrian-friendly walkways across key components of Sunsuria City. There are also plans to build dedicated and special bicycle lanes across the township.

During the event yesterday, SOSB also signed a memorandum of collaboration with Xiamen University Malaysia to set up a Sunsuria Bicycle-sharing Station at the east entrance of the university.

“In line with Sunsuria City’s three guiding principles, namely smart, liveable and sustainable, we have come together with the aim of building a low carbon and green township.

“We are looking at creating a sustainable transportation system to improve public health and to alleviate traffic congestion; hence, the Sunsuria Oride Bicycle Sharing Programme is to deliver the promise of a healthier and eco-friendly lifestyle that embraces innovation and community interaction,” said Oride CEO Harry Wong.

According to Wong, the bike rental charges will be RM1 for the first hour, RM1.50 for the second hour and so forth. Wong noted that there will be a promotional period in the first month of its launch for students of Xiamen University Malaysia (free for the first hour and RM1 for the second hour and so forth).

“There will be kiosks at the bicycle stations where users can register for a bicycle card and pay a refundable deposit to rent a bicycle. We will be targeting to cater mostly to students of Xiamen University Malaysia in the initial stage of the programme, so they [the students] will be able to use their student card to register.”

The public will need to produce their identity cards and credit card information to apply for the bicycle card.

“The bicycle card is used to tap a touch screen in order to unlock the bicycle at the dock. The bicycle can be returned to any one of the bicycle stations available by tapping the bicycle card given earlier onto the touch screen whereby a beep sound will be produced to note that the transaction has been completed,” explained Wong.

“In addition to that, we will also have a smart control management system that records bicycle rental transactions, availability status and user’s information. We will also be looking at launching a mobile application with self-rent services in the future,” Wong added.

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This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on Aug 19, 2016, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.