India-based mobility platform Bounce on Friday said that the company is working with the Bengaluru Railway Division to provide commutation to its railway workers amid the lockdown owing to Covid-19.
The mobility platform had recently launched its ScooterHero initiative, where individuals can lend their vehicles to frontline workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The initiative enables people to sign up their idle personal bikes and scooters to be shared with frontline workers.
According to the company, over 1,000 idle two-wheelers have been registered on the Bounce platform which will then be deployed free of charge to the Railway staff.
“Currently, frontline warriors are facing difficulty in commuting within the city, given only skeletal public transportation service is operational,” the company said in an official statement.
The initiative will help in providing commutation to Railway workers.
“Many of us who don’t live in or near the quarters have to travel some distance to reach our workplace. The lockdown removed most forms of transport. So, unless we had our own vehicle, we ended up walking for several kms. Bounce providing vehicles, will help us reach easily and safely.” said Raghuram (name changed) an employee with the Railway.
Raushan Kumar, DCM of South Western Railway Zone said, “The Railway has been running trains for transportation of these goods, since day one of the lockdown. Our field staff operate these trains and to facilitate their commute, we daily run 10 pairs of ‘Workmen Special Train’; only limited staffs are allowed to travel, taking all the precautions and norms of social distancing.”
“The ScooterHero initiative will enable seamless first mile - last mile connectivity for staffs who travel by the Workmen Special Train. We have been working with Bounce since December 2019 and in this difficult time, they have shown a kind gesture to help with the transportation issues for our frontline staff,” Kumar added.
The ScooterHero initiative has received over 1000 registrations within 3 days of it being announced. People from Bengaluru and Hyderabad, have registered their idle scooters and bikes, to aid Covid frontline workers in their commute, the company said.
Individuals can sign-up at scooterhero.bounceshare.com and enlist their idle two-wheeler to be used for frontline workers through the Scooter Hero initiative.