Bicycle sharing service on cards, but Gurgaon has no cycling tracks

Over 2,000 smart cycles will be made available at metro stations and markets across Gurgaon; pilot run in January

In another initiative that will improve last-mile connectivity in Gurgaon and help people turn to greener modes of transportation, the DLF Foundation on Thursday entered into a partnership with a Dutch company to launch a smart bike sharing service in the city.

(From left) CEO DLF Foundation Vinay Sahani, DLF executive director Col Prakash Tewari and CEO Mobike, India, Vibhor Jain at a conference in Gurgaon, on Thursday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

As per the MoU with Mobike Netherlands Group Technology BV, a bicycle-sharing system will be created with 2,000 to 3,000 bicycles. The bikes will be stationed at different metro stations and markets across Gurgaon.

The pilot run is scheduled to begin in January.

“The bike-sharing initiative will go a long way in offering last-mile connectivity besides offering a viable transport system to masses,” DLF Foundation CEO Vinay Sahni said.

The pact was signed at a conference ‘Building Lives by Ensuring Sustainable Mobility’. A workshop was also organised on sustainable mobility. The workshop was held under foundation’s Gurugram Rejuvenation Project in association with Institute of Road Traffic and Education, TERI University, Management Development Institute and KPMG.

Thursday’s MoU is among the several initiatives taken to make Gurgaon more eco-friendly.

This month itself, a bike sharing app Mobycy announced it would soon launch its paid-for bicycle hiring services at Gurgaon’s Metro stations at HUDA City Centre, Sikanderpur, Sector 54, Cyber City, Iffco Chowk and Ansal University.

However, these initiatives may not go a long way in changing people’s habits as the city has no infrastructure to promote cycling as a means of transport.

Currently, the authorities are constructing a cycle track on both sides of the 8.3-km Golf Course Road, between Sector 55/56 and Shankar Chowk. This the first such initiative in the city. At present, Gurgaon is bereft of tracks for cyclists.

There has been renewed focus on boosting Gurgaon’s public transport system and reducing the number of private vehicles on road after the district administration said it could not implement the odd-even vehicle rationing system as a way to curb pollution in wake of excessive smog experienced across states in the NCR in November.