Bengaluru: Commuter using Namma Metro can now ride a bike from home to the metro station and from the station to their respective destinations. In order to provide last minute connectivity to and from the metro stations, India’s first smart urban mobility solutions, ‘Metro Bikes’, launched their bike services at 36 metro stations across the city on Friday.
A conglomeration of senior dignitaries, BMRCL officials, Bengaluru Development Minister, K J George, Home Minister, Ramalinga Reddy, Managing Director of BMRCL, Mahendra Jain and other metro staffs were present at the event.
The introduction of Metro bikes aims in providing first and last mile of commuting services for the riders opting metro as a preferable mode of transport. The service will be fully functional from February 16.
Inaugurating the launch, Bengaluru Development Minister K J George said, “I am happy to see more young people coming up with these creative ideas and would like to see more such ventures in the city. This not only helps people with last mile connectivity but also helps people get job opportunities.”
Metro Bikes is the utility arm of ‘WickedRide’, a Bangalore-based bike rental company that was founded by three friends in 2014. “There are around 1,300 scooters available and the number will increase to 30,000 in another 10 months, “said Vivekananda Hallekere, CEO, Metro Bikes. The rides are charged at Rs 5/Km and Rs 0.50/minute inclusive of fuel.
Speaking at the event, Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said, “This is one of the most convenient and cost effective service a common man can afford. With the increase in traffic this service will enable people to use more public transportation.” While the managing director of the BMRCL, Mahandra Jain said that this will help BMRCL to get the revenue of Rs 2.65 crore per year.
Vivekanada also said that there is no limitation on the distance of travelling. The rider can pick and drop the bike in the metro stations or the legal parking area once it is created. GPS and connectivity sensors are installed in the bikes. Aadhaar and license copy is a must for the rider. The service is operated with the OTP (one-time password) generation code technique.
