Indian Express 19.08.2010
Dry run for civic body’s hire & ride bicycle project
Express News Service Tags : civic, bicycle project Posted: Thu Aug 19 2010, 03:32 hrs
Pune: To promote the use of environment-friendly transport in the city, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Wednesday decided, in principle, to under take ‘hire-and-ride bicycle’ pilot project.Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal said it was, in principle, agreed by leaders of all parties to introduce the project to promote bicycling among citizens. “The PMC will set up 35 cycle stands under the project from where citizens can hire a bicycle to go anywhere in the city,” he said, adding that around 2,000 bicycles will be purchased by PMC for Rs 1 crore.
Citizens will be issued smart cards for Rs 500 and only those with smart cards can avail of this facility wherein they can hire bicycles from any station and return them at any cycle stand after the ride, he said.
“The civic administration has been asked to frame guidelines for implementation of the project. The project would be launched extensively if the pilot project turns out to be a success,” he said. The administration has also been directed to explore the possibility of various modes for implementation of the project, the Mayor said.
The PMC has developed over 45 km of cycle track along the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) route and plans to construct 140 km under JNNURM. It has also managed to seek funds from the Global Environment Facility of the United Nations for developing cycle tracks on roads connecting BRTS lanes.
