Cycling, on right track

The RMC, however, in April 2015 launched its bicycle sharing project to promote NMT and thereby reduce traffic congestion and vehicular emission. It established bicycle depots at Kisanpara Chowk on Race Course Ring Road, Indira Circle, Trikon Baug, and Rajkot Central Bus Station.

To encourage people to use bicycles for short-distance travel, the civic body also kept the first hour free. From the second hour, a person hiring a bicycle has to pay Rs 5. However, after poor response at Trikon Baug, the RMC wound up its cabin from there and shifted bicycles to Race Course where the “health conscious” people come in large number for cycling in the morning.

In the second phase, the RMC parked bicycles at all 18 bus shelters of the BRTS to provide passengers last-mile connectivity. Presently, the RMC has 230 bicycles, which can be hired from 20 places. All these bicycles have been donated to the RMC by individuals or organisations.

Furthermore, at the request of the civic body, 17 hotels in the city have bought five bicycles each for their guests.

To make the service more user-friendly, the civic body provided option for individuals to become members of the project, so that they do not have to produce their photo-identity cards every time they hire bicycles. It also provided the option of hiring a bike from one point and returning it at another. It also formed Rajkot Cycling Club in association with Rotary Club.

After launch of the progamme, the civic authorities started removing encroachment on cycle tracks along the BRTS corridor.

Municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra also formed a special squad to keep check on encroachments on the corridor. The squad collected Rs 10 lakh fine, mainly from second hand car dealers, in less than a year.

Civic officers said around 500 people hire bicycles from the RMC everyday. Most cycles are hired from Kisanpara Chowk and Indira Circle. They said students have shown keen interest in cycling.

After encouraging response at Race Course, the civic body marked a strip of the Race Course Ring Road as cycle track.

“Bicycle sharing project is part of our planning for the Smart Cities Mission. Under the Smart Cities initiative, we want to introduce a cycle sharing system in other parts of the city as well,” Nehra said.

The fact that the cycle sharing project of Rajkot was funded by its residents caught attention of the Union Ministry of Urban Development. Recognising its promise, the ministry gave best NMT project award to the initiative in November last year.