Cycling Reduces Travel Time, Offers Safe & Healthy Trip To Users: CEO Smart City
By Majid Nabi
Srinagar- Five chartered bike docking stations with the slogan ‘Burn Fat, Not Fuel’ were made operational on Thursday at Jhelum Riverfront in the Rajbagh area of the city, marking the first of its kind smart initiative in Kashmir under the Srinagar Smart City Project.
Smart cycling initiative, officials said, was taken in a bid to tackle overcrowding and reduce traffic mess in the congested city. Off-road bicycle routes, popping-up in several parts of Srinagar, offer cyclists a clean, healthy, and affordable ride from one station to another.
Out of the total 100 chartered docking yards, 70 have been completed in several areas of the city so far, of which 5 such points have been made active in the Rajbagh and Lal Mandi areas and the remaining 65 will be made operational soon, officials told Kashmir Observer.
They said the users could unlock the cycle by scanning a barcode before moving from station A to Station B. 30 docking stations, they said, will be made operational in Srinagar in a day or two.
Cycling, as per the rate list displayed outside River-Front Docking station is free for first 30 minutes while a user has to pay Rs 5 for 60 minutes, Rs 10 for 120 minutes, Rs 25 for 2-3 hours, Rs 50 for 3-4 hours, Rs 100 for 4-6 hours, Rs 200 for 6-8 hours and Rs 350 for 8 hours.
Talking to Kashmir Observer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Srinagar Smart City Project, Athar Amir Khan said 10 to 12 cycles will be deployed at every docking station.
“I recommend people to use cycles as it saves time and helps them take breath in a healthy environment. Cycling as everyone knows has a lot of health benefits, besides it’s cheaper and reduces travel time as well,” he added.
He said chartered docking stations are coming up across Srinagar, including Boulevard Road, Airport Road, Nishat, Bemina and Khanyar area in the old city.
Khan, who also heads Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) as Commissioner, said the users need not bring back the cycle to its original track but could be dropped at the next station.
“Cycles as per the contract with the firm will be used for next ten years and extended accordingly. 100 off-road stations with 1000 cycles will come up after every one kilometer across the city soon,” CEO Smart City said.
Mehran Khan Division Head for Chartered Bikes said off-road cycling besides reducing travel time will provide a safe, healthy and congestion free trip to the cycle riders.
“A total of 100 chartered docking yards are popping up in Srinagar. 30 more stations will be made functional within the next couple of days. 1000 cycles will be made available for the consumers on these 100 docking stations across Srinagar,” he said, adding, the users could unlock the cycle only after downloading chartered applications online.
Regarding per trip charges, he said the cycles have been deployed at all five stations on the riverfront and the user initially has to pay as per the usage.
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