The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) plans to introduce a Cycle Sharing System (CSS) on a pilot basis in the Khairatabad zone. The cycle sharing system, once in place, will allow commuters to rent a cycle and drop it off at designated locations after use. The aim is to encourage more people to adopt eco-friendly and low-cost mobility solutions.
The GHMC has planned automated cycle bays at 20 locations within the Khairatabad zone and called for vendors. Commuters who use the cycle sharing service can pick one up from any of the 20 locations and drop them off at the designated cycle station at their destination. Each cycle station will be within a 2 to 3-kilometre distance from each other, informed GHMC.
Requests for proposals to develop, design, procure, install, operate and maintain the cycle stations have been initiated by the GHMC. The city already has a cycle sharing system but is limited to service commuters using the Hyderabad metro; the new cycle stations being planned will service non-metro areas, said Vamsi, the Deputy Commissioner for GHMC, Khairatabad zone.
In February, this year, the Hyderabad Bicycling Club and Smartbike Mobility Pvt Ltd had launched a public bike-sharing service to address last-mile connectivity at Hyderabad metro stations. This was through a joint venture with Nextbike GmbH, Germany. Presently bike stations are located at Miyapur, JNTU, KPHB and Kukatpally metro stations.
The GHMC is also going to build a 46-kilometre long cycle track within the Khairatabad zone. Dedicated cycle tracks are being built across 95 cities in India as part of the India Cycles 4 Change challenge under the Smart Cities Mission. Warangal and Karimnagar in Telangana are part of the Smart Cities Mission of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
The GHMC hopes to lay as many as 450-kilometres of cycle tracks within the city in four phases as part of this initiative. Cycle tracks are expected to come up in Hyderabad at Cyberabad/Hitech City, Kukatpally, Dilsukhnagar, Charminar, Mehdipatnam, Financial District, Hyderabad Knowledge Centre and Kokapet.
(With IANS inputs)