Chandigarh: No user charges for bicycle sharing project till Sept 12

The Chandigarh Smart City Limited has directed the company operating the cycles to suspend the fee and offer the cycles for free to users till all glitches are removed

No user charges will be imposed in the public bicycle sharing project till September 12.

Users have been reporting several glitches since the bicycle sharing project was launched in Chandigarh on August 12. (HT Photo)

The Chandigarh Smart City Limited has directed the company operating the cycles to suspend the fee and offer the cycles for free to users till all glitches are removed.

NP Sharma, chief general manager, CSCL, said: “There were several instances where the smart bike app wasn’t working properly, because of which people could not use the cycles. There were also issues with recharging of the e-bikes. Consequently, we have asked the firm managing the project to offer the cycles for free till September 12.”

During this period, the CSCL will check whether the glitches have been removed or not. The first phase of the project was launched with 1,250 bicycles at 155 docking stations on August 12. Users are being charged at ₹10 per half an hour. Those with annual membership of ₹500 have to pay ₹5 per half an hour.

The project has received tremendous response since its launch. “More than 11,800 new registrations have been made in six days. This is in addition to more than 54,000 registrations during the Cycle4Change competition. As there 1,250 cycles in the first phase in comparison to 225 in the Cycle4Change competition, the number of glitches being reported has increased. But, these would be rectified by September 12,” said Sharma.

In total, 5,000 bicycles will be provided in the city along with a network of 617 docking Stations spread throughout the city giving last mile connectivity to the users.