The sharing economy is here. Looking at the mass of bicycles lying all around the grassy patch reminds me of my inability to cycle. However, BlueSg caught my attention. Car Sharing is new in Singapore and being a driver who doesn't have a car to drive, I was attracted to open an account and try their services. But bad press about their cars being abused have made me afraid of driving their car.
But with my fiancee getting her licence, it spurred me to start an account to let me haolian my driving skills to her.
I literally burned a hole in my pocket because i bet against
her passing her licence and lost a Kate Spade to her.
BlueSg
It is just an electric car that you can rent by minute basis.(with minimum of 15minutes)
Sounds cool but still unsure if you would like to open an account?
Steps to Open an account
According to their official 9 page guide, it seemed pretty straightforward in getting an account set up.
- Username/password
- Personal Details
- Driving licence and NRIC photo (confirm easier than the selfie required by CoinHako)
- Payment for your premium membership* (the membership is Free if you register the premium membership before 31st March 2018, but you still need to insert credit card details to charge $0)
- Go to booth to activate EZlink card or use their provided token that will be posted to your address.
But...
Do note the fine prints!!
- It takes 10 minutes to create an account, but approval for you to start driving takes maybe a few days, though mine was approved pretty quickly. Do make your account in advanced instead of leaving to the last minute.
- You need to go to a car booth to pair your EZlink card within the stipulated period.
I am not sure what will happen if you didn't pair in time.
- Free membership for first year but auto renewal of membership is activated! This meant that if you forget to close your account, you will be charged membership fees! And hear me clearly, Close your account, not cancel membership. Basically their 1 week membership is a trial for new users and you need to sign a 1 year membership in order to drive their cars. That is $180 at $15 per month! And if I am not wrong, you need a 1 year membership every time you register!
Last but not least, NO REMINDER FOR THE EXPIRY OF YOUR ACCOUNT.
You have been warned.
- The touchscreen on the booth is pretty crappy. I kept typing the wrong pin. Do note that when you take the car, you can only type your pin 3x. DO IT WITH CARE!
- You MUST remember which credit card did you charge your usage to. There is no way to check back which Credit Card you charged to other than calling their hotline! Neither can you change your credit card with ease. The only way to do it is to call their hotline.
How it felt driving BlueCar
Quiet, like real quiet until I didnt know the engine is on. I was having difficulty with driving it because I cannot "feel" the car.
The car is pretty weak and small, but really quiet.
The car even rolled back if you are on a slope and you stop on it.
There is no pushing force if the car is not accelerating.
You also get a lot of eyes staring at you, because BlueCar!
The Damage
According to the app, I drove about 43 minutes, which translates to $14.33!
From my experience, if I were to take a ride during off peak hour for 43 minutes, it will cost me approximately $20. So yes, it is indeed cheaper by a bit if we compare to off peak rates. However, the inconvenience is that the parking locations is pretty little and not near to where I or Chew stays.
So yes, it is fun to drive this car for fun, but to use it for commutation will have to wait for it to further set up more spots for returning the car.
