'Smart City' to bring bicycle hiring in new avatar

On your way to market place in the City, park your car at the multi-level car parking (MLCP) facility, or at a smart parking facility, pedal a bicycle on the cycle tracks, while some of the roads where you are cycling would also be non-motorised transport (NMT) zones.

This is not a scene in a foreign country, but it would happen in Hubballi itself, as per the plan prepared under the Smart City project. A detailed project report (DPR) for the public bike sharing system is getting ready, and when implemented, it is expected not just to reduce traffic congestion and pollution, but also do its bit for the health of citizens.

As per the plan, around 375 modern bicycles would be available for the use of citizens, at various places in the City, mainly at the area-based development (ABD) area of the Smart City project. This will be implemented and operated on public private partnership (PPP) model, at an estimated cost of Rs 8.09 crore.

A total of around 34 bike stations with electronic docks, two redistribution vehicles, two garages, and a control centre are planned, while the system will have smart features like mobile app and real-time bicycle location monitoring also. User fee, advertisement, sponsorship, and other sources of revenue are expected to run this system.

"One need not return the bicycle to the point where he had picked it up, as there would be multiple stations. Cycle tracks would also be identified for this system, and making some congested roads near the market as NMT zones would also help a lot," says Hubballi-Dharwad Smart City Limited (HDSCL) special officer S H Naregal.

The DPR would be ready within a couple of days, and request for proposal (RFP) would be floated after getting required approvals. An investor who is implementing a similar system at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh has already shown interest to implement and operate it here, he said.

MLCP DPR ready

Meanwhile, the DPR for the proposed multi level car parking (MLCP) facility (Rs 42 crore) near Court Circle has been forwarded to the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development & Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) for technical scrutiny. HDSCL has already started the tender process of a few works including electric crematorium, while more works are expected to enter the tender stage within two months.

"In the process to develop Super Market in Dharwad, and Janata Bazaar and MG Market in Hubballi, the government would be proposed to give relaxation in the rule to acution new shops, so that existing vendors can be accommodated there, and construction would be taken up in a phased manner, to prevent confusion and inconvenience," Mr Naregal added.

56 queries for PPP projects

In the Smart City investors' meet held in Bengaluru recently, 56 investors from Hubballi-Dharwad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Noida have made registered queries about seven PPP projects including MLCP (parking complex), Super Market, LED street lighting, roof top solar, public bike sharing, smart parking and smart poles proposed in Hubballi-Dharwad.

"We have given them basic information about PPP projects, and an investors' meet would also be organised at the local level, before March, so that interested investors can visit respective locations and find out more details," HDSCL special officer S H Naregal said.