Dirty BlueSG cars, trashed bikes? This is why we can't have nice things

We must play an active role in the upkeep of shared services — and not assume others will pick up after us.

- Karen Tee

The first time I used a BlueSG car a few years ago, the novelty factor of having access to an electric car on demand without needing to own the vehicle intrigued me. But the actual experience was underwhelming. It drove like a slightly ambitious golf buggy with weak acceleration and had such poor air-conditioning that the interior felt stuffy.

The poor maintenance of the car turned me off the concept of car sharing altogether and it appears other issues have gradually driven others away from it too. In early August, BlueSG announced it would "pause" its operations in Singapore to prepare for a relaunch in 2026. Experts cite losses caused by an ageing fleet.

But there have been plenty of online comments and user feedback about shared cars in general, griping about the cars being dirty and littered with food wrappers, or worse. Unfortunately, this is a familiar refrain. Remember Singapore's foray into bike sharing years ago, when random bikes could be found vandalised or dumped indiscriminately in places like HDB stairwells or even, once, in a canal?

All too often, such shared services end up being treated like disposables that we aren't interested in maintaining. This says something rather unflattering about us.

A CULTURE OF COMPLIANCE Singapore has long had a reputation as a carefully managed, orderly city. Yet, we can hardly collectively claim credit for this. We largely rely on an extensive list of rules and regulations to stay in line, like returning used food trays at hawker centres.

It's built a culture of compliance where people do things because we have to, not because we want to. And once we are away from all this regulation, the edges start to fray.

In many HDB estates — mine included — used tissue, cigarette stubs and other random litter often lie strewn about.