New mobile app for electric, smart bikes to be launched soon

CHENNAI: A new mobile application to book smart bikes will be officially launched in the next few days. This is expected to resolve some of the issues, including connectivity, that the existing app might have. The Chennai Corporation and Chennai Smart City Limited implemented the public bicycle sharing system to improve last-mile connectivity. The SmartBike application at present has below-average ratings on the App Store with bikers complaining of inability to login, non-generation of one-time password (OTP) at the time of registration and location glitches. Moreover, download and registration of the app was an issue due to incompatibility with a particular mobile phone model. 

“The new app is more user-friendly, other than the change in the theme of the interface. It will also include several options to pay online like UPI and Paytm when compared to the MasterCard and Visa payment options that are available,” said an official with SmartBike. It may also include rental instructions to make the process easier for bikers in the city. The application was launched in Chandigarh on December 10. “As far as Chennai is concerned, we are waiting for the launch of electric bikes so that people can start using it,” said a corporation official. 

The city corporation is set to roll out 500 e-bikes, expected to be launched by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. The e-bikes are to be added to the existing docking stations along with the regular Smart Bikes. It may then be scaled up after assessing the demand for e-bikes. The electric bikes would help residents travel longer distances with lesser effort since they typically reach speeds of up to 25 kmph and have a battery to last nearly 40 km. 

The electric bikes were recently launched in Chandigarh under the Smart Cities Mission. The pandemic and lockdown resulted in a spurt in cycling activity in the city, especially for fitness and leisure. Recent data from the Strava fitness app showed that the route from RK Salai to Nungambakkam was the most popular among city cyclists, most of whom belong to the 20-34 age group.