From autonomous vehicles in our last #GeospatialPower feature, we now shift gears to the trusty bicycle! As part of the Singapore Geospatial Festival 2024 in October this year, we joined Kelvin Phang, founder of the RIDEnjoy app, and other avid cyclists for a scenic sunset ride from Kallang to Marina Bay. During the half-hour journey, we chatted about how RIDEnjoy leverages SLA’s OneMap, what sets the app apart, and some exciting plans on the horizon (spoiler alert: a name change is coming!)
What inspired you and co-founder Adrian Tan to start the RIDEnjoy app?
As a lifelong cyclist since the 1980s, cycling was my go-to mode of transport—from college and university to army and even the office until the late 1990s. The COVID-19 cycling boom in 2020, however, brought challenges like road rage between cyclists and drivers, accidents on park connectors, and cyclists unwittingly venturing onto expressways.
In late 2020, I discovered the Blended Events 2.0 Initiative grant by Sport Singapore. Inspired, I decided to create an app to make cycling safer and more enjoyable. With lockdowns and social distancing giving me extra time, I explored various apps to uncover the best ways to cycle around Singapore—and the idea for my app was born.
Why did you decide to use SLA’s OneMap for your app?
We chose OneMap for our app because it provides a clear depiction of the Islandwide Cycling Network (ICN), with park connectors marked in green (with white dashes and a bicycle watermark) and shared paths in blue. Other maps lack this level of detail, and many cyclists have only realised OneMap’s value for non-road cycling after using RIDEnjoy.
Many cyclists who prefer not to cycle on busy roads now prefer to use RIDEnjoy powered by OneMap as the routing usually shows how to navigate using the PCN and shared paths.
For example, cycling from Ang Mo Kio to the Sports Hub in Kallang is made easy with clear navigation through park connectors and shared paths. While the routes may not always be the fastest, they are tailored for safety and tend to be more scenic.
How about other features along the route that could be useful for cyclists?
Utilising OneMap’s suite of features, RIDEnjoy includes POI (Pins of Importance) which includes bike parking, covered shelters (in case of rain), location of AED devices, water coolers, A&E locations and more. By tapping one of these POIs in map mode, users can easily locate the nearest amenity on his or her current location.
In MOVE mode, the SOS button alerts emergency services and displays a red cross on the user’s avatar, visible to others within a 2km radius.
We believe this feature could one day be a life-saving one, which will enable users to assist a fellow walker or runner nearby in critical or emergency situations.
What differentiates RIDEnjoy from other cycling apps or groups?
RIDEnjoy is a social navigation lifestyle rewards platform that sets itself apart from apps that focus on sports performance and navigation – it combines location-based tracking with social features and gamified rewards.
Users can see avatars of others—cyclists, runners, walkers, skaters, or differently-abled individuals—or share their live location for better coordination during activities like trekking. RIDEnjoy also allows users to report and pin information on the map, from wildlife sightings to accidents and food spots.
Unlike traditional "move-to-earn" apps that reward steps, RIDEnjoy rewards every kilometre moved—whether walking, running, or cycling—with JoyCoins. These can be redeemed for discounts in the app’s marketplace. Additionally, users earn rewards for visiting retail locations, called JoyStops, driving foot traffic to partner businesses through gamification.
RIDEnjoy contains Joy Beacons that bring people together through gamification and augmented reality. What are some of the games users can take part in?
RIDEnjoy uses Joy Beacons to engage users through gamification and augmented reality. The RIDEnjoySG event challenged participants to collect geo-located points and take augmented reality photos at iconic locations, attracting over 15,000 participants and even earning a mention in Parliament.
The upcoming Green Commute Game in 2025 will serve as the app’s launch campaign. Participants must cycle, walk, or run at least 50km over six weeks to qualify for a finale where 500 finalists compete for $10,000 in cash and prizes. The top 100 participants with the most mileage and CO2e savings automatically qualify.
Through this campaign, we hope to encourage Singaporeans to go car-free and switch to active mobility modes!
The app is going to be renamed to MOVE&JOY. Why the change?
Unlike RIDEnjoy which tracks cyclists, MOVE&JOY allows users to choose from 28 different mobility modes, from walking, hiking, running, cyclists, skating...to use of Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs), Power-Assisted Bicycles (PABs) and Personal Mobility Aids (PMAs) and more.
MOVE&JOY will also track the carbon emissions saved by users adopting sustainable commutes like walking or cycling over driving.
In Singapore, transport contributes around 15% of our total greenhouse emissions. Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles generate approximates 0.2 kg of CO2 per kilometre. Hence, if a person cycles or runs 20km (to and fro work) instead of driving, he or she can save 20kg of CO2e in 1 week (five workdays) alone.
How many downloads does RIDEnjoy have so far?
RIDEnjoy has seen about 28,000+ downloads and we are in the process of migrating them from RIDEnjoy (which is catered towards cyclists) to MOVE&JOY (beta) by end of Q4 2024.
We hope to increase our users 10-fold when we fully launch MOVE&JOY app in March 2025 with the Green Commute Game campaign.
Why is the mascot (Kobi) a dinosaur?
Our mascot is a dinosaur and we know Singaporeans love their 'monsters'...from Labubu to Pikachu. We also have many dinosaur-themed playgrounds and Jurassic Mile at Changi Airport, so we knew our avatars and mascot will be a hit.
Kobi is short for Yorokobi, which means Joy in Japanese. As we become MOVE&JOY, we will be introducing more 'dinosaurs' as avatars in the app. Eventually, we want to allow users to get free items to dress their in-app avatars.
Oh yes, and look out for Kobi-inspired merchandise and plushies too!
What are your future plans for the app?
We hope to make MOVE&JOY a self-serve platform for teams, businesses, non-profit organisations and government agencies to engage their audiences and potentially generate revenue through location-based event challenges and retail.
We also hope to add AI co-pilot features and integration with wearables!
SLA’s #GeospatialPower series highlights individuals and companies utilising SLA’s #geospatial data, technology, and infrastructure to create innovative solutions for a smarter, safer, and more sustainable Singapore.