City moves towards sustainability while infrastructure worrisome

PUNE: NP NEWS ONLINE- Public bicycle sharing (PBS) scheme was set up with the objective of creating a 300-km network of bicycle tracks in the city.

The PBS scheme was launched on January 5 this year at the Savitribai Phule Pune University campus and later it was implemented across the city after a good response.

This draft plan was approved by the general body of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) after a team of consultants presented a survey of 11,000 people from various backgrounds for their travel patterns, views about cycling and inclination to shift to bicycles.

PBS now claims of four lakh registered users on the dedicated app and according to the bicycle sharing department of the PMC, the number of bicycles has touched the 8,000 mark this year.

Narendra Salunkhe, head of the bicycle sharing department PMC, “We are getting a good response from residents across Pune as well as the service providers. We hold weekly review meetings to discuss the issues faced and think of better solutions for the users.”

The PBS aims to serve as another mode of transport for commuters and provide efficient last mile connectivity for public transport users. Under the plan, PMC has tied up with vendors – Pedl, OFO, Mobike and Yulu – who provide bicycles, which users use through online payment.

PBS plans to further the last mile connectivity by adding more bicycles and reaching to the other suburbs as well as central Pune to help reduce use of vehicles, but this will all happen only after infrastructure is in place.

PBS boasts of 4 lakh registered users on app and according to the bicycle sharing department, they even crossed 6,000 bicycles mark for this year. But, towards the end of the year, PBS seemed to have lost its steam with OFO pulling out in August 2018.