Zoomcar launches bike-sharing service in Mumbai Metropolitan

MUMBAI: Self-drive car company Zoomcar has launched a technology-enabled cycle sharing service, PEDL, in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region starting with the privately-developed smart city, Palava.

This is the fifth city after Pune, Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru where Zoomcar has launched this service.

At present, PEDL cycles have been placed across 30 locations in Palava. PEDL has about 200 cycles there, and has been able to manage more than 2,000 trips per days on an average since its launch on December 9, as per the company.

"We are piloting the project in Palava here, and will soon spread it across various other locations in Mumbai," Nirmal NR, VP operations and growth, for Zoomcar Mumbai told PTI.

However, he did not specify the investments made into the launch of the service.

Nirmal, however, said the company plans to charge Rs 10 for every 30 minutes, per cycle ride.

PEDL is expected to hit around 1,000 cycles in next one month in different parts of the megapolis and at scale will be present every 50-100 meters in a city.

The cycle sharing service is aimed providing individuals service which is convenient, affordable, and environmental-friendly for short trips around the city, he added.

Palava, developed by Lodha Group, has a particular focus on smart and sustainable design and has partnered with companies including GE, IBM, Sun Edison, Philips and many others.

"We plan to build the cycling community in Palava through multiple events and partnerships with local businesses across Palava and surroundings to incentivize people to use cycles and make it popular," said Greg Moran, CEO and co-founder Zoomcar.

"Over the next few months, we are looking to change the last mile commute within cities reducing the usage of bikes and cars for short trips and that would be a model for other modern cities coming up across India," Moran added.

The cycles are built with smart locks which are unlocked using a QR Code.

Earlier this month, cab sharing firm Ola also launched bike-sharing service, Ola Pedal, starting with university campuses, and is working on expanding availability.

Zoomcar India, funded by marquee investors including Ford Motor Company, Sequoia Capital among others, is a fully-owned subsidiary of US-based Zoomcar Inc.