City plans to push pedal for transport

CHANDIGARH: The city intends to bring together cycling and public transportation to create a facility that provides complete commuting solution. In five months’ time, UT would offer a facility of rental bicycles so residents can pedal to a place where public transport is available and take a bus or train from there. They would be allowed to leave the rented bicycle there.
For starters, the administration intends to provide the facility at five locations — ISBT-17, ISBT-43, Railway Station, Sukhna Lake and Sector-17 plaza.
The facility would be called ‘‘park and ride’’. It is expected to help deal with vehicular congestion on busy roads.
The system is used in many European cities. In the long run, officials intend to have 15-20 bicycle rental points in the city from where people can pedal to the next point where public transport is available.
Disclosing this to The Times of India, UT finance and engineering secretary, V K Singh said that while taking cycles on rent, commuters would have to get their name and address registered at the cycle rental point. ‘‘Thereafter the concerned parking operator would issue an integrated permit to the commuter after which he would be at liberty to park and pick his cycle from any of these places,’’ revealed Singh.
UT chief architect Sumit Kaur said, ‘‘We are coming out with this concept to develop more road transport options in view of the upcoming metro rail project. Right now, we are working out modalities to finalize this cycle project.’’
Park-and-ride facilities may suit commuters whose vehicles run on alternative fuels which often have low range as the cycle facility may be closer to home than their destination. In this regard, Singh said, ‘‘The proposal is being given a serious thought and architecture department is busy finalizing details of the project.’’