The company apologised for the “temporary disruption” and said it was preparing for a relaunch next year.
SINGAPORE: Electric car-sharing firm BlueSG announced on Monday (Aug 4) it will temporarily pause its operations from Friday (Aug 8) at 11.59pm.
Calling it a “strategic pause”, BlueSG said in a Facebook post that it is gearing up for the “next generation of car-sharing” in 2026.
The upgrade will involve a new platform, a refreshed fleet with a new range of vehicles, an expanded network of pickup and drop-off points, as well as “greater reliability and a smoother user experience”, BlueSG added.
BlueSG’s chief executive officer Keith Kee said: “As the landscape evolved and we observed the potential scale of car sharing users, it became clear that the current infrastructure of BlueSG needs to be upgraded fast to meet the demands of tomorrow.
“That’s why we’re taking bold steps now to pause, minimise distractions and focus our resources on delivering a completely new platform. It puts users at the centre by delivering unprecedented efficiency, reliability, scalability, and a completely reimagined user experience.”
Users with remaining credits or subscriptions with the platform will be fully refunded by Aug 31. User accounts will remain accessible until Aug 31 at 11.59pm, the company said on its website.
“We apologise for the temporary disruption which may cause inconvenience, but we assure you that we’ll be returning with a smart, more seamless experience that will make your journey with BlueSG easier, more reliable and enjoyable,” BlueSG said.
Its new service, which aims to address current limitations, will draw on lessons from BlueSG’s current service and be designed from the ground up, the company said.
“We’re building on the foundation of what we’ve learned, and putting the customer experience at the heart of everything we do,” Mr Kee said.
Existing users of the platform can look forward to exclusive privileges at the launch of the new service, the company said.
Further updates on the new service, including timeline, features and launch plans, will be announced in the coming months, BlueSG added.
BlueSG is the only car-sharing platform that offers point-to-point services in Singapore.
The sudden announcement took users by surprise. Some acknowledged the need for an upgrade but questioned why operations had to stop entirely during the transition.
CNA has contacted BlueSG for more information.
Following the announcement, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) said it was aware of BlueSG’s plan to temporarily pause services.
“CASE has worked with BlueSG to create a dedicated channel to address matters related to the refund of credits and outstanding bills,” the association said in a media release on Monday.
Customers who require assistance are advised to approach CASE via its hotline at 6277 5100 or its website at www.case.org.sg.
ONLY FOUR DAYS’ NOTICE GIVEN
Some BlueSG users were taken aback by the move, given the short four-day notice, and lamented the temporary loss of Singapore’s only point-to-point car-sharing service.
Others raised questions online as to whether an upgrade would mean higher prices when the service relaunches in 2026.
Mr Joel Tan said that he was surprised as he thought BlueSG was “doing fine”.
“This is the second or third time that they have upgraded the system, and much scrutiny was on them during the most recent upgrade,” the 33-year-old educator said.
However, Mr Tan also noted that the current BlueSG fleet was “not exactly the best”, with some cars already being “prone to wear and tear”.
Mr Tan said he uses BlueSG four times a week and has a basic membership which costs S$8 (US$6) a month.
“I guess we will just wait for the new system to be out, but I am very curious to find out why they must stop all operations during the transition,” he added.
He said that he was not too concerned over the pause, “on the condition that they do not charge fees (during the period)”, but added that the pause will affect convenience when it comes to travelling.
Mr P Ong, who uses BlueSG’s free membership plan, said that though he was “quite surprised” by the move, it does not affect him much as he also uses other car-sharing services.
The 24-year-old student said that he “used to rely” on BlueSG during peak hours when ride-hailing prices surged.
“I also appreciated BlueSG’s Point A to Point B rental model, but in practice, I often had to walk quite far just to find a car.”
“It was also sometimes hard to find parking near my destination,” he added.
“So, unless I planned ahead, it wasn’t very convenient.”
A BlueSG user who only wanted to be known as Jeremy said that the temporary closure will impact his weekly routine and that he will now have to consider other transport options.
“I might have to explore owning a car, but that comes with significant cost considerations, so I’ll need to evaluate carefully,” the 30-year-old manager said.
When asked if he was worried about refunds and bills, he said that he had no major concerns.
“The (BlueSG) system has generally been reliable, so I’m not overly worried, though of course, I’ll be watching how they handle this transition,” he added.
“I understand this pause may be part of their obligations or business restructuring, and rather than dragging things out, I think it’s better they address the issues head-on.”
Some users also took to social media to voice their disappointment.
Lamenting the move on Reddit, one user said that BlueSG is his primary mode of transport to work because there is no need to worry about parking fees or topping up petrol.
Another conveyed his disbelief at the company’s lengthy pause for a “platform upgrade”, calling the situation “fishy”.
DISRUPTIONS IN 2023
In December 2023, BlueSG customers faced major disruptions when using its services. This included inaccurate charges and users being unable to find their reserved cars or parking spots, for instance.
At the time, BlueSG’s former chief executive officer Kelvin Tay said that the glitches were due to “unexpected technical complexities” after systems migration updates.
The car-sharing platform waived its January subscription fee for users, but subscribers said then that the move was not enough.
Source：CNA
