Coming soon: Shared e-scooter mobility in Chandigarh

He added, “Moreover, this will help bring in last mile connectivity. Like if a person has taken a bus for one route, so from the bus stand he can take the e-scooter to the nearest station located near his house.”

According to the presentation given by the Furr company, e-scooter shared mobility solution will work for last mile connectivity as e-scooters will be placed at various locations and given out on rent. A mobile app and a control room will be used for booking and distribution of the bikes across the city.

As per the presentation, multiple centres will be established all over the city, particularly in densely populated areas and hubs such as near major bus stations, central market, education hubs, commercial hubs, industrial estates and district centres. In the first phase, just on a pilot basis, 15 such stations will be there.

Also, there will be a provision that verified customers can book the bike through a mobile that will have a strong verification process based on Aadhaar/other KYC details. Customers will also have the convenience of picking up and dropping the bike to any of the centres. There will be fully automated system for the convenience of customers. They will get prompt alarm for distance travelled, fare, battery / kilometres he can drive, drop zones, etc.

This project does not require any charging station. All the e-scooters will have replaceable battery and the field team will keep replacing the drained out batteries at various locations. The administration officials were also told that the scooters will be equipped with an IOT device which will help the company keep track of the vehicle and give an alarm if anyone tries to steal the vehicle.

A field team will be there on the spot to replace batteries and manage density of vehicle at various stations.

Much before public bike-sharing project

This project will be tried on a pilot basis before the public bike-sharing project. It is to come up in two months’ time from now. The public bike-sharing project under the smart city has been hanging for the last over three years. Last time as well, there was a single firm that came up and that is why UT had to recall the tender. Before the project is implemented, the e-scooter will be implemented on a pilot basis.