For the project, the NDMC has partnered with Nextbike, a German bicycle sharing system company, and Smartbike Mobility, a Hyderabad-based start-up. (Representational image)
People moving from one place to another under NDMC areas would soon find a new, cost-effective mode of transport: bicycles, or smart bikes. To be introduced on June 3 at a ‘mega cycling event’, the ‘public bike sharing system’ will give an environment-friendly mobility option for residents, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) said on Friday. The facility will be available by mid-July, officials said.
For the project, the NDMC has partnered with Nextbike, a German bicycle sharing system company, and Smartbike Mobility, a Hyderabad-based start-up. The project, to be launched as a public-private partnership programme, is being funded by Smartbike.
At a press conference Friday, NDMC officials announced that the bicycles will be ‘smart bikes’, imported from Germany. The bicycles, which will have GPS software, will cost about Rs 1 lakh each. According to the project brief, there will be 500 bicycles across 50 stations in NDMC areas.
The cycles can be accessed with a processing amount of Rs 100 and will be available for subscriptions ranging from one week passes for Rs 199 to yearly passes for Rs 1,999.
Project coordinator H P Singh said the project is to be integrated with the existing public transport system, to ensure better and sustainable last-mile connectivity. The stations are to be located at strategic areas such as Metro stations, bus stands, markets, office complexes and tourist locations and users will be able to pick up a cycle at one station and drop it off at their destination station. However, these cycles are not be used outside NDMC areas.
On the sustainability of the system without creating cycle-friendly infrastructure, Singh said, “It is equally unsafe to drive a car or a motorcycle in Delhi. It is important to change mindsets so that people view cycles as an essential part of the streets of the city. Dedicated cycle-lanes are in the pipeline though, but in the meantime there is a cycle-track between Indian Habitat Centre and Jor Bagh Metro station, service lanes and even footpaths which can be used by cyclists.”
This project comes after the DMRC had also launched a public bicycle sharing facility in 2015 which was met with a limited number of users. According to Singh, the NDMC project will not be met with similar lack of enthusiasm because, “these bicycles are more comfortable and because of our convenient provision to drop off the cycles at the riders destination”.
Asked if the current heat will impede the use of this facility, Singh remarked that very few people currently have access to air-conditioned transport facilities anyway. “Given the lack of economic last-mile connectivity, this should come as a relief to many people instead.”