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Agence France-Presse

Thae Su Wai is beaming. The 11-year-old Myanmar student, a proud owner of a new bicycle, will no longer need to trudge 10km for two hours to and from lessons.
“I’ll have more time to study and play with friends,” she said, as she excitedly wheels away her new bicycle at Nhaw Kone Village school near Yangon.
Thae Su Wai is among the first 200 students to receive bicycles, shipped from Singapore and Malaysia, donated to give them access to education in a nation where more than half live in poverty.

The initiative, called “Lesswalk”, is the brainchild of Mandalay entrepreneur Mike Than Tun Win.
He grew up and was educated in Singapore before returning to Myanmar eight years ago with a business degree.
Drone photography captures ‘bicycle graveyards’ as China’s bike-sharing bubble bursts
“I saw students walking for many hours to get to school and I felt really sorry for them,” said the 33-year-old.
Unicef estimates that 55 per cent of children in Myanmar live in poverty, while half of 17-year-olds enter adulthood with little or no education.

So when Mike heard that bike-sharing companies oBike, Ofo and Mobike had pulled out from Singapore and Malaysia, leaving thousands of bicycles in “graveyards”, he grabbed his chance.
The tech investor bought 10,000 bikes earlier this year and shipped them to Myanmar.
They might not be worth anything in Singapore, but they’re valuable in a poorer country.
Mike Than Tun Win, entrepreneur
After exchanging the bike-share lock for a seat on the back, he is now starting to hand out the bright orange and yellow bicycles.
He hopes they will help keep more kids in school for longer, giving them an education so they can “escape from poverty”.

Each cycle cost him just US$35, including shipping and distribution, and he footed half the bill, with the other half coming from sponsors.
Yangon is Lesswalk’s first stop before Mike rolls out the scheme in Mandalay and Sagaing regions later this month.
Children aged 13 and 16 living more than 2km from school will be at the front of the queue.

“Most parents here are poor,” says Ni Ni Win, 55, head teacher of Thae Su Wai’s school. “Many children don’t even have umbrellas – they just use pieces of plastic to cover them when it rains.”
Mike says this is just the start – the aim is to keep up momentum and hand out a total of 100,000 bikes over five years.
“They might not be worth anything in Singapore, but they’re valuable in a poorer country,” he said.


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Bike-sharing services

Myanmar schoolchildren breathe new life into disused bicycles from oBike, Ofo and Mobike languishing in ‘graveyards’

Photo: AFP

In this picture taken on June 18, 2019, students ride bicycles, previously used in bike-sharing companies and shipped from Singapore, which have been donated as part of the "Lesswalk" scheme on the outskirts of Yangon. - The clangor of bells in the air, Myanmar children race home from school on recycled bikes shipped from Singapore and Malaysia, donated to enable them easier access to education in a nation where more than half live in poverty. (Photo by Ye Aung THU / AFP)

In this picture taken on June 18, 2019, Mike Than Tun Win (2nd L) cycles with students on bicycles, previously used in bike-sharing companies and shipped from Singapore, which have been donated as part of the "Lesswalk" scheme on the outskirts of Yangon. - The clangor of bells in the air, Myanmar children race home from school on recycled bikes shipped from Singapore and Malaysia, donated to enable them easier access to education in a nation where more than half live in poverty. (Photo by Ye Aung THU / AFP)

In this picture taken on June 18, 2019, students look at bicycles, previously used in bike-sharing companies and shipped from Singapore, which have been donated as part of the "Lesswalk" scheme at a school on the outskirts of Yangon. - The clangor of bells in the air, Myanmar children race home from school on recycled bikes shipped from Singapore and Malaysia, donated to enable them easier access to education in a nation where more than half live in poverty. (Photo by Ye Aung THU / AFP)

In this picture taken on June 15, 2019, Mike Than Tun Win poses in front of bicycles previously used in bike-sharing companies, which were shipped from Singapore as part of the "Lesswalk" scheme, in a warehouse in Yangon. - The clangor of bells in the air, Myanmar children race home from school on recycled bikes shipped from Singapore and Malaysia, donated to enable them easier access to education in a nation where more than half live in poverty. (Photo by Ye Aung THU / AFP)

Bike-sharing firm Ofo's dramatic fall from grace a warning to China's tech investors

People use mobile payment to rent Ofo bikes, a bike sharing service in Shenzhen, China. Photo: SCMP

As Gobee.bike packs up, is it the end of the road for bike-sharing services in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong start-up Gobee.bike pioneered the launch of bike-sharing services in the city in April 2017 in districts such as Sha Tin, Tai Po, Ma On Shan, Tuen Mun, Fanling, Tseung Kwan O and Tung Chung. Photo: Felix Wong

JPG for ONLINE

Vandalised bikes. Photo : Handout [FEATURES 2018]

Bicycle belonging to a newly launched bike-sharing service start-up, Gobee.bike, were found throw into a river in Sha Tin. PICTURE : supply by GoBee. Bike

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

Thousands of bicycles that lay in ‘graveyards’ after bike-sharing companies pulled out from Singapore and Malaysia are now being used by Myanmar children to go to school
Some 55 per cent of children in Myanmar live in poverty, while half of 17-year-olds enter adulthood with little or no education, according to Unicef estimates


Thousands of bicycles that lay in ‘graveyards’ after bike-sharing companies pulled out from Singapore and Malaysia are now being used by impoverished Myanmar children to go to school.
