CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, June 3: As June 3 is celebrated as World Bicycle Day every year, the cycle provided by Ranchi Smart City Corporation Limited (RSCCL) for the public use in various locations is crying for attention as people are least interested in riding it.
Ranchi had launched Chartered, an app-based bicycle sharing scheme as part of its Smart City project back in March 2019. The service is available on a subscription basis. The cost of a year’s subscription ranges from Rs. 30 per day to Rs. 1,000 per year.
Despite these facilities, residents of the city are not interested in riding bicycles. There is more than one reason for it. While few consider the cycles are not as good as they are meant to be while others believe that the city lacks proper roads to ride a bicycle.
Rahul Kumar, a resident of Bahu Bazaar said that he used to ride the bicycle initially when it was launched but due to a lack of proper roads he had stopped using it.
“The cycles are not bad, to be honest, but I guess it is not meant for a city like Ranchi. The roads over here are quite narrow and do not have a separate lane for cyclists. I have had quite a few narrow escapes while riding the bicycle as people tend to drive their cars quite rough,” he said.
Meanwhile, another resident added that the cycles are not maintained properly and many times the brakes too do not function.
The city had more than 60 docs of the cycle with around 600 plus cycles in them. However, the cycles are kept like that without people using them.
Earlier, when the bicycle was launched, people used to take it to their home and keep it with them for days without knowing that there is a built-in GPS tracker.
Lagatar24.com tried to contact RSCCL officials in order to get an official statement regarding this but there was no response from their end.
The cycle enthusiasts in the city are promoting cycling in various ways and there are many cycling clubs in the city that organise various events in order to promote cycling in the city.
