Bike-sharing: Chandigarh to get 1,250 more cycles, 155 docking stations in June

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Chandigarh, April 10

Even as several issues crop up in bicycle rides, the city will get 1,250 new cycles and 155 more docking stations under the third phase of the public bike-sharing project on June 27.

For want of charging of cycles, users are unable to start a ride using the mobile App at several docking stations. Some cycles have broken lock, pedal or basket. Besides, it is difficult for the authorities to control vandalism and misplacing of cycles.

The authorities and the company managing the project claimed they could fix all the issues, but it could not be fully done. Last year, after facing glitches in the ‘Smart Bike’ app, cycle rides under the project were made free for some time. However, the glitches have not been properly fixed.

The second phase of the public-bike sharing project was launched in February when a total of 1,250 new bicycles were added. At present, a total of 2,500 bicycles are being provided at 310 docking stations in the city.

There is a plan to take the count of bicycles to 5,000 and that of docking stations to 617 in a year. The project is being implemented and operated by Smart Bike Tech Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad, for a period of 10 years on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

The users may take a bicycle on rent for Rs10 for half an hour while members have to pay Rs5 for a 30-minute ride. By paying Rs500, one can become a member for a year. People can get a ride by downloading and registering through mobile app, ‘Smart Bike’.

Almost all prominent places in the city have docking stations, as it was planned to provide the first and last mile connectivity to users. Places like Rock Garden, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Sukhna Lake and the PGI, and Sectors 17, 22, 34, 35 and 43 have docking stations.