Travel that last mile on a bicycle

Despite a daily ridership of three million people, and growing on a daily basis, Delhi Metro doesn’t seem to be halting the rise in the number of personal vehicles on city roads. The reason is simple: lack of last-mile connectivity.

In the absence of a viable transport option which can drop commuters till their doorsteps, they will continue to use their cars and two-wheelers.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is urging people to use bicycles to decongest the city and make it more environment-friendly, but earlier attempts to encourage this `clean’ mode of transport haven’t been very successful.

In 2007, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) first started a scheme of renting out bicycles at its Vishwavidyalaya station near Delhi University’s North Campus. But commuters remained unimpressed.

“I love riding bicycle, and have been trying to ride one for the last three months, but whenever I come here I see the cycles are already taken,” says Dipansh, a student of Ramjas College.

“The reason is whenever a student takes a bicycle, he returns it only after his classes are over. And till then, the cycle remains parked outside the college – idly. Only the ones who come early can hope to get a bicycle,” Dipansh adds.

Delhi Metro and Delhi government need to build infrastructure and work with different civic agencies to provide last-mile connectivity.

 “A commuter doesn’t live near the station. He needs to travel further to reach his destination. For that we need transport, which can take him there. Cycles are one of the two options that we chose for last-mile connectivity from our stations. We can have a cycle-shelter at our stations, but where will the commuter park the bicycle once he reaches his home?” says Vikas Kumar, executive director, Operations, DMRC. The electric rickshaws are the other option, according to him.

“We need to build cycle substations near the colonies and offices to complement the cycle stations at the Metro stations. It has to be a hub-and-spoke model, for which we need the help of all the civic agencies of the city, under whose jurisdiction different parts of the city fall. However, we are not getting the required support,” Kumar adds.

Civic agencies like the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are, however, quick to shift the blame.

“We have never been approached officially regarding it. Although we are also serious about the last-mile connectivity issue, any scheme that is to be launched should be viable and should not be a loss-making venture,” says Radhe Shyam Sharma, convener, standing committee, South MCD. Sharma adds that they have themselves identified some places near residential areas and are thinking about opening cycle stations there.
A lack of consensus is clearly hampering the expansion of the scheme to other parts of the city.

According to DMRC, a detailed project report had made it clear that each cycle stand should have four to ten satellite substations in neighbouring areas.

The success of cycle sharing services is dependent on availability of substations – meaning cycle stands in nearby localities, markets, educational institutions and office complexes – so that the commuters can pick and drop the bicycles at their convenience. And without the bother of trying to keep them safe.

With no such substation, renting a cycle is also expensive as the charge is by the hour.
To overcome these shortcomings, in January this year, Delhi Metro started a new cycle sharing scheme in collaboration with a private company, Greenolution.

Under this, bicycle shelters are available in Neb Sarai, Akshardham and Hauz Khas, from where commuters can hire them, ride to the station and then leave them at the cycle shelter at the Metro station.

According to Veerendra Chopra, managing director of Greenolution, unlike some other schemes, the riders doen’t have to return the cycles at the point where they hired them. They can even register online for the scheme or buy a smart card for as little as Rs 50 at the station, and keep on recharging it.

“In the cycle-sharing model, a passenger can hire a cycle from, say, Akshardham, and when he gets down from the Metro at Vishwavidyalaya station, he can again hire another cycle there and ride to his destination, and follow the same pattern on his way back,’’ Chopra adds.

The company is now planning to introduce a mobile phone app for the service.