Rickshaw is passe! Now ride in a G-Rik to Metro

Travelling from metro station to your home or office is soon going to be easier. The company that runs cluster buses in South Delhi has launched G-Rik, a battery-operated rickshaw service, which would run as feeder service to Metro stations.

The first cluster of G-Rik started operating between Malviya Nagar Metro station and Select City Walk mall at Saket on Friday. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit launched the service from her residence in the afternoon.

According to Ajay Singh, chairman, Argentum Group, the company which has launched G-Rik, the service will soon be started to connect various other Metro stations in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad with the neighbouring residential colonies and commercial hubs. The company also plans to start 'Call-a-G Rik' service, which will have GPS-fitted battery operated rickshaws being controlled through a call centre.

A fleet of 25 G-Riks has been introduced intially. The rickshaws will charge Rs 10 per trip per passenger. A rickshaw-stand has come up at the Select City Walk mall for the vehicles.

"We have realised that there is urban mobility gap across the country and Delhi is no exception. Last mile connectivity is a huge problem. We aim to bridge this gap with this service," Singh said, adding it was planned to launch 5,000 G-Riks in the next 15 months.