Bengaluru: After a wait of two years, public bicycle sharing finally became a reality in Bengaluru after chief minister HD Kumaraswamy officially launched the project in the Vidhan Soudha on Monday.
Back in 2017, the directorate of urban land transport was given the responsibility for implementing this project in the city by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.
The budget for the venture was also passed the same year, but the project remained a non-starter though operators had initiated their own experiment.
The licence to run the programme has been given to a Mysuru-based startup, Bounce, a dock-less smart urban mobility solution, to provide the cycles along with another operator, Yulu Bikes.
In the initial phase, Bounce will provide 1,000 bicycles with about 400 parking hubs across the city.
The partnership between the transport directorate and Bounce plans to address the city’s traffic issues through shared mobility. The company hopes the bicycles will not only help in first and last-mile-connectivity but also for short-distance commutes.
Shamanth, head of market acquisition at Bounce, said access to the 400 parking hubs in Bengaluru would be a game-changer in making the public bike-sharing venture a success.
“We were already present at various metro stations and have a tie-up with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, but this licence broadens the horizon. We have geo-tagged these locations on our app so that a commuter can simply go and drop off the bicycle at the nearest hub.”
How will this function?
Bounce app users have to first log-in to the app, check for the nearest vehicle, unlock it by scanning the QR code and indicate the destination at the end of the ride.
Charges
The commuter will be charged Rs 3 for every 10 minutes and the bill has to be paid by the user at the end of the trip and after the bicycle is back in a hub. Electric bicycles can also be hired on a monthly subscription basis at Rs 1,200 per month.
In case the bicycle is not returned to the hub, the billing cycle would continue. The bicycles can be tracked through GPS tracking.
Mysuru mayor Pushpalatha, who has seen the success of the trin-trin service in the palace city, said, “Given Bengaluru’s traffic woes and increasing pollution, this service would be extremely beneficial for the city. In fact, Mysuru is looking to get more bicycles and we plan to expand our corporation budget for the scheme.”
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