HYDERABAD: It is going to be a long wait for cycling enthusiasts before they get to rejoice travelling on the Hyderabad Metro Rail. While smart bikes (bicycle-on-rent services) at Metro station are yet to be put to use, foldable cycles and hover boards are just not allowed inside the train.
Many a commuter would like to carry foldable cycles with them on the Metro as that would make travel from station to their destination easy. But with restrictions on foldable cycles on-board trains, people who could have done without autos or buses for the rest of the journey are denied this convenience.
The result is that they too join scores of Metro users who have to endure endless troubles the moment they exit the station owing to inadequate last-mile connectivity.
The Metro ridership is large and travel on it too is comfortable and quick. What bothers commuters currently is hassle-free availability of autos, cabs or buses on occasions when their destination is not at a walking distance.
One bicycle enthusiast Mano Vihar took to Twitter to check if foldable cycles are allowed. He wrote, “Please let us know if we can carry foldable e-cycles into the metro (sic)”.
While Metro authorities on their part encourage people to use smart bicycles they propose to provide to cover the distance from the station, they have disallowed carrying of foldable cycles on trains. When contacted, HMR MD N.V.S. Reddy said, “We cannot allow things like foldable bicycles on the Metro due to security reasons, and the inconvenience it may cause other commuters.”
Abhinanda Malhotra of Hyderabad Bicycling Club counters this saying, “Foldable cycles make overall commuting easy, especially with regard to the first-mile and last-mile connectivity. Allowing foldable bicycle will provide an almost door-to-door connectivity, even as HMR is working to provide last-mile connectivity.”
The club is working in association with HMR to provide last-mile connectivity using smart bikes. Mr. Malhotra said, “We want to provide bicycles to people who don’t have one. Our aims is to see that when people are travelling, a major part of the journey should be on Metro, and the first and last mile on the bicycle.”
However, smart bikes at are lying idle for now. Officials say that smart bikes at Miyapur Metro Station will be operated from next week.
