Lucknow goes on eco-friendly rides to usher in new trend

The ‘cycle sharing’ trend is catching up in Lucknow, especially among youth and joggers in Gomtinagar.
Seeing the enthusiastic response from people, Lucknow Municipal Corporation, which has started the service, plans to expand it to other parts of the city once the roads become cycle-friendly.

At present, LMC has provided 25 bicycles at six spots in Gomtinagar — Janeshwar Mishra Park, Patrakarpuram, Gwari Crossing, Husadiya crossing, Hahnemann crossing, and Singapore Mall.About 1,000 people hire these bicycles on rent daily, either for fitness or for running daily errands, claims LMC .
Cycles on rent are available from 5:30am-1am and from 4.30pm-8pm. They are available at 12 dockyards on the route from Janeshwar Mishra Park to Singapore Mall.
Harish Gupta, a resident of Indiranagar, said, “I have been cycling here for a month since the facility started. The cycles are light and smooth to ride, so people of all ages can ride them. In fact, I have been cycling daily in Janeshwar Mishra Park.”
Since the bicycles are GPS-enabled, a rider can drop them at any of the available dockyards. The next rider can locate the nearest dockyard and cycle availability on the app ‘Zoomcar’. One can access the bicycle by punching in the code and typing the OTP in mobile.
The cycles have special locks which open only after the rider has registers on ‘Zoomcar app’ after paying the fee. The company handling the bicycles currently charges Rs 6 per hour which has to be paid in advance through electronic mode of payment.
The concept has been developed under the Smart City project which looks after the transportation needs of the city.
Dhananjay Singh, a resident of Hazratganj, said, “Now, I often hire bicycles on rent to commute from Janeshwar Mishra Park till Husadiya Crossing as I have to complete many official works there. I got hooked to cycling after my bike developed a snag. Ever since, I have been using the facility on and off. The charges are less and cycles are easily available.”
People find bicycles a good alternative to public transport owing to environment friendly benefits. Amit Singh, who lives on Latouche Road, said, “Cycles can help cut down air pollution significantly as they are perfect substitute to motorised public transport. Many people commute every day to small distances to complete daily chores. If they start using bicycles, vehicular pollution will reduce to a great extent.”
The users of the facility, however, want a few modifications in the service like provision of mud-guards for protection, gears, regular maintenance of brakes which often become loose due to frequent use and expansion of the service to other parts of the city.
(With inputs from Haritima Gupta and Sneha Manoharan)