Cycling in Singapore in the next five years

Here at Mighty Velo, the folding bike specialist in Singapore, many customers often ask us, “Is Singapore bicycle-friendly?”. The answer is yes! Cycling in Singapore has evolved tremendously over the years. Most pavements are bike-friendly and park connectors can easily get you from one side of Singapore to another more seamlessly now. Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced the 15-kilometre Green Corridor Plan to be located in the East. Singaporeans can now expect new scenic cycling routes in the pipeline. Cycling will definitely change in the next ten years in three specific areas – daily commuting, leisure cycling and cycling in residential areas, such as the new Tengah New Town.

Singapore cycling situation

Cycling routes in Singapore have improved tremendously now over the last 20 years. Our government has introduced a series of car-lite initiatives in the recent years to help promote a bicycle-friendly nation, which focuses heavily on cycling for commuting and leisure purposes. By 2030, the cycling path network will increase by three-folds and will be 1,320 kilometres long.

Commuting cycling, its problems and its solutions.

In 2013, our government wanted to promote intra-town cycling and hence, planned a cycling path network of about 190 kilometres connecting 26 HDB towns. 

This is to promote “first and last-mile transportation”, which encourages individuals to commute to MRT stations and neighbourhood centres using bicycles. As of 2020, cycling paths have increased to 440 kilometres and are accessible in almost every HDB town.

Besides adding new cycling routes for bike commuters, our government also encourages companies by giving incentives to promote cycling. The government also incentivises employers by building end-of-trip facilities when employees cycle to work. The Land Authority of Singapore (LTA) introduced the Active Commute Grant that provides a subsidy of up to 80 per cent of construction costs for end-of-trip facilities like showers, lockers, changing rooms and directional signs to guide employees to these amenities. 

However, even with the presently built cycling paths, there is still a big issue with the routes in Singapore. One of these problems is that when crossing the overhead bridge with a normal bike, it may be difficult to carry the whole bicycle up as it might be very bulky and heavy, especially for female cyclists. However, with a compact foldable bike that folds easily and quickly, it will be more convenient to climb an overhead bridge with the folded bike.  

PLQ mall equipped with bike parking facilities

To promote commuting cycling, there is also an increased number of bicycle parking facilities and bicycle-friendly paths in shopping malls across Singapore. 

In 2019, Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ) mall was launched with the vision of a car-free shopping mall in mind. PLQ developed external cycling paths surrounding the shopping centre and it also dedicated indoor parking racks for people to park their bikes safely. Equipped with end of trip facilities, cyclists can freshen up after their ride to the mall. 

Since then, other shopping malls like the Funan DigitaLife Mall have also been built to be more bike-friendly, making commuting cycling easier and more comfortable.

However, like driving a car, limited parking is still a huge problem for cyclist. Since these malls are bicycle-friendly, many cyclists would visit these malls with their bikes. The parking rack will be easily be full and parking would be limited.

This is where foldable bikes become a viable solution for daily commuting. For foldable bikes, they can be folded down quickly making it easy for people to roll their folded bikes into shopping malls without any hassle. You won’t be able to do this with a normal full-sized non-folding bicycle.

The Coast to Coast Trail for leisure cycling

Leisure cycling in Coast to Coast Trail

As cycling continues to pick up in Singapore, you will definitely see more cyclists out on the road and on the new park connectors. 

One popular cycle-friendly bicycle trail is the Coast to Coast Trail built by the National Parks Board (NParks) to allow leisure cyclists to venture from Jurong Lake Gardens, all the way to Coney Island at the end of Punggol. This bike trail covers a total distance of 36km and allows riders to see both the heartlands and green lungs of Singapore. This cycle friendly trail is one of the best scenic options for leisure cycling now. 

Cycling with a Birdy foldable bike in Singapore

Future plans for commuting cycling

To encourage cycling for commuting in the future, the LTA has started a new Island-wide Cycling Network (ICN) Programme. Under the ICN Programme, it will give every HDB town access to a cycling path by 2023. By 2030, the cycling path network will increase by three times and reach 1,320 kilometres. The park connector network will also be more interconnected, linking more roads in Singapore, making them more accessible to cyclists. 

Leisure cycling by foldable bicycles is a convenient way to rediscover Singapore

The Green Corridor Plan for leisure cycling in the future

Another future programme to promote cycling is the building of a 15-km long green corridor that will connect East Coast Park to Changi Beach Park. 

The central green corridor will run along New Upper Changi Road and Loyang Way. The green corridor will not only connect to other parks and gardens in the area via a network of community corridors, it will also allow cyclists to relax and enjoy the lush scenery. Residents in the near future can expect more nature-based park connectors in the East.

Artist’s impression of the new Tengah HDB town

Cycling in the future for the residential area

The new Tengah HDB town area is bounded to by Choa Chu Kang to the northeast, Jurong East and Jurong West to the south, Bukit Batok to the east and the Western Water Catchment to its west and north. With Singapore’s plan to head towards a car-lite society, the new Tengah HDB town will be the first car-free town centre in Singapore with the roads and vehicles running underneath it. This town centre will free up space on the ground level, which makes it conducive for walking, cycling and other recreational activities. 

In the town area, wider paths have been created to encourage more people to cycle. To improve the individual cycling experience in Tengah town centre, features such as elevated and underground crossings, shaded paths and rest-stops, are also planned as part of the park network.

Birdy Rohloff has an internal gear hub that makes maintenance hassle-free

Getting a foldable bike to start your journey

If you are interested in getting a foldable bike to kickstart your cycling journey, you can head to Mighty Velo. Mighty Velo is the sole distributor of Pacific Cycles’ Bicycles in Southeast Asia. We carry 17 different frame colours for our Birdy Performance Foldable Series and nine popular frame colours for the CarryMe model.

For more information, you can visit www.mightyvelo.com. You can also head down to our experience store at 30 Tai Seng Street, BreadTalk IHQ, #02-14, S534013. We are open from Monday to Saturday, from 10 am to 7 pm. We are close on Sunday and Public Holidays.