Singapore's electric car-sharing program hits the road
I moved to Singapore a few months ago. Frankly speaking, the venture sounds ridiculous.<p>* the public transport is probably one of the best all over the world (even though the locals keep complaining), with completely driverless trains and accuracy that would make the Germans and the Swiss cry in envy.<p>* like elsewhere in Asia, it&#x27;s mostly about the price. Nobody except for the hipster expats gives a hoot about going green, Singapore is green enough already. Grab is kicking Uber&#x27;s ass, even though the app is buggy and the support is poorly organised. Uber is considered somewhat of a &quot;luxury&quot; service.<p>* Grab, Uber, and the local taxis are available everywhere at a couple of minutes notice.<p>* because the cars are so expensive, driving skills are not at all universal.<p>* again, the price. There are traditional rentals companies, SMove.sg (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.smove.sg" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.smove.sg</a> - a local equivalent of ZipCar, but integrated with the public transportation payment system), and scooter &#x2F; bicycle sharing everywhere.<p>Now regarding the self-driving cars in SG. I was very enthusiastic and curious about that one, but was disappointed when I learned more. These guys (nuTonomy?) have their tests around the one-north area where all the startup kiddies are. There is even a sign proudly proclaiming &quot;Autonomous Vehicle test @ one-north&quot;. They apparently let outsiders try it out. My associate took one, and it turned out that:<p>* it&#x27;s a closed loop, not a real street<p>* it&#x27;s slow, golf cart style<p>* there is a backup car following you with a live driver and engineers at all times<p>Kinda sad. I was hoping these thingies will go live around 2020. I wonder why nuTonomy even bothered coming all the way here.