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Chennai Corporation plans to introduce a cycle-sharing scheme in the city to provide a low-cost, environmentally friendly mode of transport to Chennaiites.
Cycle-sharing will boost use of public transport by providing the crucial last-mile connectivity. It will be available in a closely spaced network of fully automated stations. Users can check out cycles at one station and return them to any other station in the network.
In the first phase, the Corporation plans to have around 3,500 cycles made available at 150-170 stations.
The plan is to open this in mid-2014, for which the Corporation recently called an Expression of Interest (EoI) from companies to develop, design, install, and operate a Cycle Sharing System in the city.
Submission of EoI date has been extended on request from companies, Vikram Kapur, Commissioner, Chennai Corporation, told Business Line . “We are going ahead with the project,” he said.
The successful bidder will provide bicycles, stations, a control centre, electronic payment system, operations and maintenance marketing and customer service.
The initial coverage will include commercial areas of Thousand Lights and Egmore, neighbourhoods of Mylapore and Royapettah, education institutes along Kamarajar Salai and government offices, including the Fort complex.
World View Globally, there are nearly 550 cycle-sharing programmes with an estimated fleet of 5,17,000 cycles.
The Wuhan and Hangzhou public cycle programmes in China are the largest with around 90,000 and 60,000 bicycles respectively.
A number of European cities too have adopted similar schemes.
In Antwerp, for instance, Velo cycles are available for free for the first half hour of each ride.
Easy Access Velo cycles can be hired through its website, through week or day pass, via customer service or through a WAP application on mobile. A card is activated and one can immediately pick up a bike from any of the Velo stations. After the ride one can drop the Velo again at the station closest to the destination.
The Chennai Cycle Sharing will connect the key destinations to other modes of public transport, including the Mass Rapid Transit System, Chennai Metro Rail Ltd and the Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus system.
Cycle sharing stations will be physically integrated with stations and bus stops of the respective public transport systems. In addition, the ticketing system for the programme will be integrated with the electronic fare collection system currently under development by CMRL and MTC under the auspices of the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority.
Public transport is currently responsible for 41 per cent of all motorised trips in the city. The Chennai Comprehensive Transportation Study has set a goal of increasing this mode share to 70 per cent of all trips by 2026.
The rollout of Chennai Cycle Sharing will be paired with the introduction of dedicated cycling facilities, including a cycle track along Marina Beach, said the EoI.
raja.simhan@thehindu.co.in
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