Public bicycle sharing system in city soon

Now, the Smart City Bhubaneswar has initiated a move to spread the idea and propagate the love for cycles, cycling and stay healthy among its denizens.

A project called Public Bicycle Sharing (PBS) system would begin to create a non-motorised, green and healthy city transport network.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting held at the State Secretariat jointly by the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited, Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).

According to the decision, a dedicated cycle lane covering 120 km would be developed, and in the first phase, a 40-km stretch would be constructed in Smart District and Info City areas.

The Phase-I plan of PBS will include Janpath, Cuttack-Puri Road, Jagamara-Sundarpada Road, Bidyut Marg, Airport-Nandankanan Road, Sachivalaya Marg and National Highway.

It can be mentioned here that without a dedicated cycle track in the city, the cyclists always remain vulnerable to speeding light and heavy vehicles. So as per the provisions under the Complete Street Guidelines the cycle track would have safety as a major concern for the cyclist.

In the first phase, 3,500 bicycles would be deployed in remotely controlled parking spaces located in every 400-500 metre distance within the core area. All the cycles shall have remote locking and unlocking facilities. In case of deficit of cycles in a particular zone, cycles would be transported to the deficit zone from surplus area.