Bangkok--11 Sep--TQPR
Advanced Info Service, Central Pattana Group, and Kasetsart University partner with Mobike to bring a new smart mobility solution for people and businesses in the country
Photo Caption: From left to right: Suvit Arayavilaipong (SVP-Product Management, AIS), Joe Xia (CoFounder and CTO of Mobike), Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana (Executive Vice President of Marketing, CPN) and Dr. Chongrak Wachrinrat (Acting President of Kasetsart University) - Mobike signed MOUs with the three partners to make cycling the most convenient and enviromentally-friendly transport choice for urban residents
Mobike, the world's first and largest smart bike-sharing platform, announced today it is entering the Thai market in strategic partnerships with Advanced Info Service (AIS), Central Pattana Group (CPN), and Kasetsart University (KU). The three partners signed MOUs with Mobike to jointly deliver smart, sustainable mobility solutions to Thailand's residents and visitors.
Mobike will first begin service in Thailand at Bangkok's Kasetsart University to provide students, faculty and visitors easy mobility across the campus. Kasetsart University is one of Thailand's leading universities and its largest.
The smart bikes will also soon be found in strategic locations in cities across the country, including Central Pattana Group's retail properties, where consumers will have the convenience of riding Mobike as part of the first and last mile of their shopping excursions. Central World, the largest mall in Bangkok, is the first shopping mall to have Mobikes.
Mobike will launch in Thailand with a promotion of two free months of services sponsored by Central World and Kasetsart University. Following the promotional period, Mobike users will be charged the affordable price of 10 baht for 30 minutes.
AIS, Thailand's largest telecom operator, is Mobike's technology partner in extending its IoT network of smart bikes in the country. AIS's next generation network with advanced 4G and super WiFi technologies means Mobike's connectivity with its bikes and riders in Thailand is on the smartest and fastest network available.
Joe Xia, Mobike founder and CTO, said:
"Mobike is excited to partner with leading Thai businesses and institutions to bring our smart, sustainable mobility solution into the country. Our success in Thailand will be driven by these partnerships, our use of the most advanced technology in the industry, and our experience leading the largest mobile-enabled IoT network in the world."
Mobikes are equipped with a series of proprietary high-tech features that benefit both users and partner cities alike. Every Mobike is equipped with unique smart-lock technology and built-in GPS connected via the Mobike IoT network. This is an invaluable feature for cities, which no other bike-sharing company provides. Mobike's technology monitors the location and health of each bike, as well as location-based demand for bikes, to manage supply and help solve the "last-mile" challenge.
Mobike is also a pioneer in using GPS technology to leverage real-time trip and city data to better serve users and cities. The company uses data analytics not only to allocate their fleet intelligently across the city in dynamic response to traffic, weather and other variables that influence demand – but also to support city planners, local businesses and authorities in a variety of smart urban planning projects.
Suvit Arayavilaipong, SVP-PDM of AIS, said:
"AIS's partnership with Mobike demonstrates our commitment to promoting the Internet-enabled sharing economy. The Internet of Things is being increasingly adopted to efficiently match consumer demand with existing market resources. The next generation economy, supporting smart sharing services, is designed to drive Thai business and improve our quality of life. Mobike is an outstanding example of how applied IOT solutions can solve challenges like urban mobility and reducing carbon emissions, while at the same time increase economic activity. AIS will collaborate with Mobike by providing NB-IoT solution and mPay as an e-Payment gateway in Thailand."
Mobike's operations are founded on being responsible, sustainable, and innovative. The company works closely with local partners to create a tailored model for each market, providing an outstanding experience for users.The smart bike-sharing service supports Thailand 4.0 and Smart City initiatives by helping relieve congestion, reduce pollution, and provides a simple and cost-effective mobility solution in urban areas.
Dr. Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, Executive Vice President of Marketing of Central Pattana Group, said:
"We look to offer local consumers and tourists alike new experiences. We are partnering with Mobike because its innovative solution for helping people reach the 'last mile' of their journey is a proven benefit to local businesses to bring more people to browse, purchase, dine, and enjoy themselves. Mobike will help make Bangkok a greener city, and further enhance its reputation as a world-class tourist destination.We look forward to seeing Mobike riders at CentralWorld and many more of properties in the future."
Chongrak Wachrinrat, Acting President of Kasetsart University, said:
"Kasetsart University and Mobike share the dream of a better, greener future with less pollution and traffic congestion in Thai cities, we are working together towards this goal. Mobike will be a benefit to the University not only by providing a smart solution for our students and faculty to move around, but also an illustrative sustainable IoT business model to learn from."
Mobike launched in April 2016 and has since deployed across China, Singapore, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Over 160 cities now host Mobike's smart bike-sharing service where the company operates more than 7 million smart bikes in total, providing over 25 million rides every day. Mobike's strategic investors include Tencent, Foxconn, Bertelsmann, Temasek, Warburg Pincus, Sequoia Capital, amongst other. The company has also established global partnerships with leading companies including Microsoft, Vodafone, Ericsson, Qualcomm, and Dow Chemical.