Bengaluru traffic police officials give thumbs-up to public bicycles

Bengaluru: The public bicycle sharing (PBS) system will soon get a clearance from the traffic police department which will help launch the system soon. Till now, the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) was waiting for the approval from the police.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) R. Hithendra said, “We have given the in-principle permission and had directed our officials to visit spots designated to park the cycles. They have visited the places and given the clearance. Senior officers, in their observation, have stated that there is no hindrance to launch the system.”

He said, “Almost every police station official, except a few, in the Central Business District area has submitted the observation. The others are in the process of submitting it. We hope it is launched soon and also the public make complete use of it, as it will help reduce traffic congestion.”

Another senior traffic police officer said, “We made the necessary observations and found that there were no issues. We will give our official permission at the earliest. There are also plans to impose fines for bicycles wrongly parked. This should come from the concerned department and it will be reviewed again. Strict rules will be implemented to ensure that the bicycles are not misused or stolen. The public should also be responsible while using it.”

He said, “Once we get complete details of PBS and its functioning, we will brief the officials and ensure that it functions smoothly from our end.” DULT officials, meanwhile, are still waiting for the approval from the BBMP, who are yet to discuss the project and take a decision.