Most bike-sharing firms failed in Singapore. How has Anywheel survived for so long?

These are the three key strategies that allowed Anywheel to reach over a million users

In 2017, bike sharing felt like the future of urban transport. Shared bicycles were everywhere across Singapore, with major operators claiming millions of users at the height of the boom.

At its peak, a total of nine bicycle-sharing companies were operational in Singapore, offering a total of more than 200,000 shared bicycles.

However, Singapore is down to only two players today—and of the two, homegrown company Anywheel has emerged as the largest player here. Since 2022, it has been gradually scaling up its presence and now operates around 35,000 bicycles nationwide, with over 1.3 million users.

Anywheel survived when so many others faltered—these are the strategies that allowed it to outlast the bike-sharing boom and bust.

1. Deliberately starting small

During Singapore’s bike-sharing heyday, Anywheel remained a relatively small, bootstrapped player. While competitors like oBike, ofo, and Mobike aggressively expanded with billions in backing, Anywheel focused on sustainable growth, funded primarily through founder Htay Aung’s personal network. 

“We believe in sustainable growth instead of explosive growth that is likely to lose steam and money (in a short amount of time),” said Htay in a 2021 interview with Vulcan Post.

Other firms, on the other hand, pursued rapid expansion strategies that prioritised market share over sustainability. They flooded the streets with tens of thousands of bikes—relying not only on massive capital injections, but also on user deposits to fund growth. For instance, oBike required users to place a S$49 deposit when signing up, refundable if the user chose to stop using the service.

These deposits acted as working capital, allowing companies to buy more bicycles and scale quickly. While this approach created rapid visibility and adoption, it also magnified operational vulnerabilities. Bikes were often poorly maintained, vandalism and theft rates soared, and logistics costs ballooned.

When regulatory caps were introduced on fleet sizes and compliance requirements tightened, these companies found themselves overextended and underprepared to meet new obligations. Confronted with these challenges, many left users stranded: oBike’s collapse in 2018 saw thousands of users unable to recover millions in deposits, creating public backlash and undermining trust.

In contrast, Anywheel’s measured approach allowed it to survive the crash that wiped out so many of its competitors. It maintained a smaller fleet and had no deposit requirements—instead, it charges users a low, pay-as-you-ride fee, starting from S$1 for a 30-minute ride. For frequent riders, Anywheel also offers flexible passes—7-day, 30-day, or 90-day options.

2. Adapting to Singapore’s unique landscape

Singapore’s bike-sharing ecosystem is unlike many other cities. With a dense, highly regulated urban environment, operational complexity is high. Bikes need to be available near MRT stations, parks, and residential areas, while still complying with strict fleet caps and parking regulations.

Anywheel has tackled this challenge by leveraging artificial intelligence. Partnering with French software firm Qucit, the company uses predictive algorithms to forecast demand, optimise bike deployment, and prioritise maintenance.

This ensures bikes are available where and when users need them most, while avoiding oversupply in low-demand areas. AI-driven operations have reportedly increased trips per bike per day by 75%, and the system provides real-time visibility for staff, flagging neglected bikes and helping them plan collection schedules efficiently.

By contrast, other operators struggled to navigate Singapore’s complex landscape. After deploying tens of thousands of bikes across the island without proper logistical systems, bikes were often abandoned in inappropriate locations, left broken, or concentrated in areas of low demand.

Operational inefficiencies compounded regulatory pressure, and these firms lacked the tools to respond to commuter patterns, weather, or maintenance needs.

3. Looking for new avenues to maximise revenue

One structural risk for Anywheel’s core business is the weather. As an outdoor, short-distance mode of transport, bike-sharing usage is highly sensitive to rain—when downpours hit, ridership drops.

In a city like Singapore, where rainfall can be intense and prolonged, this volatility poses a challenge to sustaining consistent, month-on-month growth. Between Dec 2023 and Jan 2024, higher-than-average rainfall disrupted commuting patterns and dampened ridership growth.

These considerations pushed Anywheel to look for weather-resistant revenue streams—leading it to advertising.

For the past few years, Anywheel has been experimenting with advertising placements on its bicycles. While still nascent, the revenue stream provides a hedge against fluctuations in ridership. Advertising rates start from S$15 per bike per month, depending on placement and campaign duration.

This model has proven lucrative elsewhere. According to Htay, bike-sharing operators overseas have long monetised their fleets through sponsorships and advertising. Citi Bike in New York City, for example, secured a US$111 million, 10-year sponsorship deal with Citigroup, underscoring the scale of opportunity beyond ride fees alone.

So far, Anywheel has secured clients including OCBC Bank, NTUC, and the Singapore Police Force—a signal of growing confidence in the platform’s stability and credibility, even as the company considers it as a nascent revenue stream.

Currently, it remains focused on educating potential clients about the medium, highlighting the unique advantages of advertising on these bikes: unlike ads on cars, bicycles move at slower speeds and operate closer to pedestrian traffic, increasing dwell time and visibility.

And compared to large electronic billboards, the medium is also relatively low-energy and eco-friendly, aligning with the sustainability narratives that many brands are increasingly seeking to associate with.

Anywheel has built a sustainable operation

These are just some of the key strategies that have allowed Anywheel to survive—and even thrive—where many others faltered.

By deliberately scaling cautiously, avoiding risky deposit models, diversifying revenue through advertising, embracing AI-driven logistics, and adapting to Singapore’s unique urban landscape, the company built a resilient, sustainable operation.

Over time, this measured approach allowed Anywheel to steadily grow its presence, gradually becoming one of the most prominent players in Singapore’s bike-sharing scene today.

• Read other articles we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.

Also Read: Anywheel CEO on fighting the big boys to be the surviving bicycle-sharing player in S’pore

Featured Image Credit: Anywheel