Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah peddled a bicycle in his hometown, Mysuru, to commission India's first ever fully automated public bicycle sharing system to retain the original identity, green tag and beauty of the heritage city, Mysuru by providing sustainable commuting options to citizens as well as visitors.
Siddaramaiah who recalled how his father had bought him a bicycle when he was a small boy, said "I used to peddle around in the city when I was studying in 1961, and peddled 20 km from Mysuru to my village, Siddaramanahundi, every Saturday. With Mysuru having a 12 lakh population and 6.5 lakh registered vehicles, it is necessary to use non-motorised transport to retain the beauty of the city," he said.
The state government initiative has been taken up at an estimated cost of '20.52 crore with primary funding of Rs 10.40 crore from the Global environment fund of the World Bank. Mysuru city corporation and Directorate of Urban Land Transport are jointly implementing the project. There will be 450 bicycles (430 normal and 30 geared), at 52 automated docking stations at major tourist destinations, colleges and offices. One can register and avail the facility at six registration centres at Mysuru railway station, KSRTC rural bus stand, city bus stand, RTO, Zoo, Palace and get smart cards. One can even register online at www.mytrintrin.com or through a mobile app. In the system, one can use a smart card to take a cycle from one docking station and can return it at any other docking station of their convenience and the user fee would be automatically deducted from the smart card, DC Mr Randeep said.
The comprehensive traffic and transportation plan prepared for Mysuru has said that in the absence of a strategy focussed on improving public transport, the situation in the city would further worsen. After taking approval from the cabinet in January, 2016, a project monitoring committee was formulated under the chairmanship of the Mysuru DC.
The cycle system is operational in over 600 cities worldwide including Paris, London, Mexico city, Hangzhou and others. It may be implemented even at Bhopal, Jaipur, Delhi, Thane, Pune, Chennai, Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh.
