NMC, Metro mull bike sharing facility

Nagpur: Mahametro and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) have joined hands to promote bicycle sharing in the city. The plan, however, is still in the initial stages and will be months before anything concrete takes place.
World Resources Institute (WRI), a non-government organization (NGO), had given a presentation to officials of Mahametro, NMC, public works department (PWD) and bicycle vendors on Wednesday. WRI representatives said the bicycle sharing project had been a success in many cities and explained the reasons for it. They also analysed the reasons for failure of this model in some other cities.

WRI further said that Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) had signed a memorandum of understanding with it to promote bike sharing.

Mahametro and NMC officials said the bicycle sharing project would only succeed if requisite infrastructure is made available. "For this, we will have to provide cycling lanes and bicycle parking stations. People will not use bicycles unless there are dedicated lanes, thus minimizing the chance of being hit by motor vehicles. A large number of parking stations will also have to be created in the city so that bicycle users can go anywhere in the city," a Mahametro official said.

The official further said that the number of bicycle vendors, who would offer bikes on hire, would decide the number of bikes to be rented, and the number of parking stations to be set up. "The vendors who attended the meeting said NMC and state government would have provide land for parking stations. As NMC itself is keen on promoting bicycles, this should not be a problem," he added.

A NMC official said that the proposal to provide land for parking stations would have to be cleared by the house, as it was a policy decision. "Before finalizing this project, we will have to change the mindset of Nagpurians. As on date, not many Nagpurians, except the poor, are ready to use bicycles," he said.