In an attempt to promote the use of bicycles as an alternate and greener way to commute, The Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited (PSCDCL) ,on a trial basis launched the public cycle sharing project.
The pilot trial is aimed to create awareness and get necessary feedback before launching it on a larger scale across the city. Currently, the vehicle can be unlocked by scanning the QR code from the app and can be picked and dropped off at their designated parking bays.
The bicycles will be GPS-enabled for easy accessibility. Adequate security and anti-theft features have also been incorporated.
100 bicycles were made available for sharing inside the SPPU campus and 200 bicycles at Aundh by a private cycle provider company.
Citizens will be initially charged only Rs 1, per half an hour. Later, the cost will be Rs 1 for first half an hour and telescopic charges thereon for the remaining duration of travel.
We spoke to citizens across the city to understand if availability of bicycles will actually encourage them to shift to a greener daily commute?
Sakina Godhrawala, Content and Copy Writer: I love cycling as a fitness activity but will keep it different from my travel. I won’t prefer it as an option to go to work as currently there are no shared zones around my place which will make it time consuming for me to firstly get to the cycles. Secondly, after cycling I get all sweaty (I can’t go to office all sticky) plus I need protein rich snacks to munch as cycling is a strenuous exercise. Hence I don’t see this as being practical for me.
Shripad Patki, Trainee Accountant: Though the trend looks very cool and fascinating like in the Hollywood movies and shows where the hero rides a bicycle in a rich suit and parks his cycle in style! However, if we do it here, forget style first we will have to find a place where we can take a bath and refresh ourselves, as riding the cycle would make us sweat. So for me, the cycle won’t work as a medium of daily commute.
Preeti Kalra, PG Student: Given the fact that the infrastructure for cycling across the city is not adequate, frequent commute by bicycles can be risky on our roads full of vehicles. If at all, they are made available in the next couple of years, the cycle stands should be across the city, for people to use them as per their convenience. The concept though is appreciable, it depends on how they execute it. For students like me, it is a feasible option that will help save money, improve overall health and save fuel too. But travelling by bicycles will only be convenient if enough people accept it.
Anshul Goenka, Entrepreneur: In a time where, a strong initiative towards sustainable, eco friendly and cheap ways of commuting is needed, this idea is definetly a step towards creating the much desired awareness. I personally would look forward to commute short distances. With the availibilty now, the excuse of not owing a bicyle also would not arise.
Parth Welankar, Journalist: This could have been a very nice idea, provided we had such cool weather always and 15 Kilometres of cycling will still leave you fresh. But, I can consider riding one over the weekends or early morning, as a part of my daily fitness regime. Switching from motor vehicles to a bicycle for me seems impractical, as I have to ride from one corner of the city to another, meeting several people and covering news stories. Investments in the infrastructure should be made corresponding to their practicality.
Nivea Gandhi, Graphic Designer: I would love to cycle to work. It is a great way for me to maintain my fitness without investing extra time for walks or other sports activities. My only concern is the distance between the share zones and my home. If the share zone is too far there is no point in me travelling till there and then picking up a cycle and going further, it will be an unnecessary waste of time. Also as of now my office is just 5 km from home which is pretty much manageable but if in future the distance increases to more than 5-6 km, I won’t be able to cycle that far and will have to switch back to my two-wheeler.
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#Views reflected in this article are those of the individual respondents and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.
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