In the process of making Ranchi a smart city, the App based public bicycle sharing system launched on March 3 has come a long way in a short time span of just three months. In this time the ridership of these cycles is 1,35,615 rounds, while the number of kilometers covered by the city’s residents is approximately 2.5 lakh.
“The Government is trying to promote public transport system and this is a new component. The public has received it very well. For students and daily commuters, this is a very good option since they don’t have to bother about parking issues as the cycles just have to be left at the nearest station,” said Amit Kumar, public relations officer, Ranchi Smart City Corporation Limited (RSCCL).
The project is primarily aimed at promoting an eco- friendly mode of transportation and has helped in reducing the carbon emission in the capital city to a great extent.
Imported from Germany, in the first phase 600 bicycles were launched at 60 stations in the State Capital. Morabadi is the area where these cycles are used the most. Fitness enthusiasts use them in the mornings and evenings as well as Ranchi College students. “At any given point of time there are about 550 cycles which are either in use or parked at the dock in the city,” Kumar added.
The cycles are taken to the workshop for charging and once charged they can be used for upto two months. All the stations have volunteers and guards appointed to create awareness and help customers. The cycles are fitted with a security feature, GPS tracker, a basket in the front, an LED light at the rear and adjustable seats. The parking stations are classified under three categories — small, medium and large with 12, 18 and 36 docks respectively.
Owning to the popularity among the city residents, the second phase is also going to be launched very soon. “Once the survey is complete and permission to make docks at the marked places is received from the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC), the work will be started,” Kumar said. In the second phase another 600 cycles and 60 new stations will be added to the project.
One can use these bicycles by installing the mobile app ‘Chartedbike’. They are available on a daily, monthly or an annual membership fee of Rs. 30, Rs. 200 and Rs. 1,000 respectively. The first 30 minutes are free of charge for registered users. An additional rental charge of Rs 5 will be applicable for the next thirty minutes, Rs. 10 for two hours and post that Rs. 15 for each hour.