Noida: You can soon take a cycle to work from 62 dock stations

NOIDA: The Noida Authority has decided to set up bicycle docking stations at 62 places in the city from where commuters can book e-bikes and pedal their way to work. The facility would also be available outside stations of the Aqua Line, from where last-mile connectivity is cause for concern.
The move is likely to go down well with office-goers and other commuters at a time people are apprehensive about using public transport in the wake of the pandemic. Across the world, commuters wary of contracting the infection in crowded places and youths wanting to come out of their homes after weeks of lockdown have led to a massive boom in cycle sales. In Noida, too, more and more residents have started using the cycle for travelling short distances.

Officials said the Noida Authority had set aside Rs 1.3 crore to buy the fleet of bikes and set up the stations outside malls, metros and office hubs. Many of these bikes will run on batteries, they said.
The rent-a-cycle scheme could have been launched earlier, but the Authority failed to find any private agency interested in implementing the project. The features of the scheme, however, were different then. Any agency chosen to run the project earlier would not only have to buy the bikes, but also set up the infrastructure required to garner revenues. The Authority was only supposed to provide the space for setting up the docking stations for a rent.
When few private agencies showed up — despite tenders being floated twice earlier — the Authority last week decided to buy the bikes itself and also set up the stations. It is now looking for an agency to maintain the bikes and operate the service.
Initially, each docking station will have 5-10 bicycles, but the fleet would be augmented according to the response. The officials have already identified 24 locations in the city where the docking stations with facilities to charge the bikes can be set up immediately. At the remaining 38 locations, a shed will have to be constructed and other equipment placed.
All the bikes will have tamper-proof GPS devices along with radio-frequency identification tags. Renting the bikes will be much like booking a cab through the phone. People willing to use the bikes will have to download an app and they will be provided with a quick response code after making the payment. The app will also guide the users to the nearest docking station and provide real-time status of the bikes — whether they are available or there is a waiting period.
The maximum speed will be capped at 25 kmph since no registration is required for the two-wheelers. The Authority is planning to cover at least half a dozen metro stations that have limited connectivity.
SC Mishra, senior project engineer of the public health department at the Authority, said, “The search for an agency is on. Once we are able to finalise the terms and conditions, the infrastructure can be made ready within four weeks. We are planning to launch the service at the earliest.”
Residents backed the move. “During the winters, the service will do extremely well in the city. But in the summer season, people will find it difficult to pedal to work,” said 36-year-old Balveer Bhati, a resident of Sector 34.