This story is from January 24, 2020

Chandigarh: Bell rung, make way for bicycle-sharing

Bicycle-sharing will start here in two months. Delhi-based Smart Bike will station 5,000 pedal sets at 617 docks and pay Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) Rs 12 lakh a year, which was the highest financial bid opened on Thursday. ​
Chandigarh: Bell rung, make way for bicycle-sharing
Delhi-based Smart Bike will station 5,000 pedal sets at 617 docks
CHANDIGARH: Bicycle-sharing will start here in two months. Delhi-based Smart Bike will station 5,000 pedal sets at 617 docks and pay Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) Rs 12 lakh a year, which was the highest financial bid opened on Thursday.
The city will not spend even a penny and the company will get limited advertisement rights. A senior UT official said: “Two companies had cleared the technical-bid stage, so the contest came to who could pay the CSCL more.
Smart Bike’s rival quoted Rs 6 lakh.”
The authority’s board of directors will meet next week for approving the allotment to Smart Bike. The official said: “The 5,000 bicycles will come in a phased manner, since the company will first have to create its infrastructure. It’ll take 18 months for the full service to begin, although the first phase will start in two months.”
After failing thrice to start bicycle-sharing, the UT administration had relaxed the project rules and floated a new tender. The official said: “The relaxed rules allow for hybrid bicycles that can be switched from pedal to electrical mode. The earlier rules permitted only 25% bicycles to be power-assisted. Now, the city has also been divided into four zones to help the successful bidder lay its infrastructure.”
The earnest money was reduced from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 5 lakh to attract more bidders.
author
About the Author
Deepak Yadav

Deepak Yadav is a senior correspondent with The Times of India who covers general news on Chandigarh city. He also writes on the power sector, focusing on the northern region. He is fond of reading and cricket.

End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA