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Smart cycles a hit among professionals in Delhi
The stands on Barakhamba Road are used a lot between 12 noon and 2pm for employees who go for lunch Dontamsetti says, whereas those at Connaught Place’s (CP) inner circle are used throughout the day.
Three months since it was launched, the blue GPS-enabled ‘Smart Bikes’ in New Delhi area have turned out to be a huge success among working professionals and students. Data provided by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and Smart Bikes Mobility, the bicycles’ operator on Friday revealed the service is getting nearly 140 new registrations on a daily basis.
While NDMC chairperson Naresh Kumar said the public bicycle-sharing system is picking up “only gradually”, the service has already been embraced as a mode of last-mile connectivity by a number of those who visit the New Delhi area every day.
Arpit Singh, who works at the Bank of Maharastra on Shahjahan Road, started using the service about two months ago. “I used to take an auto to reach office after getting out of Khan Market Metro station. But now, I pedal to work. It is a distance of about two kilometres. The stands are at convenient locations. I pick up the bicycle outside Khan Market Metro, and drop it at the UPSC bike stand in front of my office,” he said.
“It’s free, because the first 30 minutes are free for members and the ride takes me barely 10 minutes. Otherwise, I used to pay at least rupees 30 for an auto,” he added.
Data shows that the bikes are quite popular among working professionals
We analysed the user base of the Smart Bikes in Delhi over the past four months and found that there are largely three customer types so far. The demand is almost equal among working professionals and leisure users– both constitute 40% each of the total Smart Bike users. The remaining 20% is mostly students riding to school,” said Dharmin Dontamsetti, managing director, Smart Bikes Mobility – the company that operates these cycles.
The stands on Barakhamba Road are used a lot between 12 noon and 2pm for employees who go for lunch Dontamsetti says, whereas those at Connaught Place’s (CP) inner circle are used throughout the day.
“We have a car which we have parked at the lot. It’s difficult to roam around CP with a car if you have to stop at multiple places. So, we are using these cycles to explore the area,” Amit Gupta, who visited Delhi from Moga city in Punjab, said.
According to NDMC, the stands are busiest during peak morning and evening. Some of the most used stands include the ones outside Shivaji Metro, Telangana Bhawan, Mandi House Metro, P Block outer circle and Lodhi Garden.
These bicycles can be rented through a mobile application. A user can check the availability of a bike in their vicinity thanks to a GPS sensor mounted on every bicycle. After entering the unique bicycle number into the app, the user receives an OTP on their cellphone, which, when fed into the mini bike computer through the small keypad fitted at the rear of the bike, unlocks it from the station. NDMC has, so far, set up 36 such stands, with 300 Smart Bikes. By April, the number is likely to go up to 500, officials said.
