Now, take a free bicycle ride in namma chennai

Sindhu Vijayakumar| Oct 10, 2017, 01:00 IST

For engineer Athirup, cycling has been a passion since his school days. Though he had set up his own consulting firm, his love for bicycle didn't take a backseat. He got talking to some like-minded individuals and soon, started a cycling club — Athi's Bicycle Club — through which he has been giving out cycles for free to enthusiasts. After establishing free-to-ride bicycles concept in Trivandrum and Kochi, he initiated a similar system in Chennai. "After seeing my work in Kerala (he has 400 bicycles running in Trivandraum, Kochi, Infopark and Technopark), Chennai Metro Rail Limited officials met me two months ago. They have given me an opportunity to start the bicycle club in three metro stations — Nehru Park, Shenoy Nagar and Vadapalani," says Athirup, adding, "We offer 100 hours of free rides to users and there's no fee or registration charges. The only condition is that the cycle has to be returned in 24 hours."

Ask him about the mechanism and he explains, "Each of the above stations has 10 bicycles and people are free to use them for a day. All they have to do is send us an SMS and we'll share with them a number, which they can use to open the bicycle. These cycles are locked using a number locking system and this is entirely a software-based process."

Interestingly, this is said to be the first time that a bicycle sharing model has been operating at railway stations in the country. "Though we have clubs in Kerala, they are not attached to railway stations. So, Chennai is the first city to have a bicycle club operating from railway stations." he says and adds, "If the cycles develop a snag during the ride, our ground staff will attend to it. We have a good network of mechanics and you can just leave the bicycle at the spot. Our staff will reach the spot and fix the issue. Currently, we keep five bicycles in each station with five as buffer. Whenever the racks at the stations are low in supply, the software will send alerts and the ground staff will do the top-up."

Interestingly, Athirup doesn't have any tracking/security system attached to the bicycles. "It makes no sense to spend about `2000 to safeguard a bicycle worth `3000," he muses. So, is he not worried that his cycles might get stolen? "I don't think I have a huge risk there. If something like that happens, we will be able to manage it," he says with confidence.

Ask him how he plans to cater to a big city like Chennai, and he answers, "This is a pilot project and if we succeed, we will be able to take this facility across the city. There are no restrictions when it comes to users; people who are not rail commuters can also avail this facility. From my experience, I would say that a combination of local trains and bicycles is the best way to commute in cities."

Athirup attributes the success of his club to the bicycle dealers, sponsors and passionate riders. "I get bicycles at a rate lesser than the market price. The business model is based on the sponsor branding on the bicycle and it's with the sponsorship revenue that I am able to provide free rides to people," he points out.

Athirup has travelled extensively in the country on his bicycle. "My cycling expedition to the Himalayas and the northeast has taught me a lot," he says, "I cycle to different places in the city and have never been late for appointments till date. I think cycle is the safest mode of transport," he asserts.

Ask him how lucrative the free bicycle sharing format is, and he says, "It's not very lucrative, but I've been able to manage. More than money, it's my passion that drives me. I want to promote bicycling as a sustainable mode of transportation by establishing a cross-city bicycling club and introducing a linear, integrated and flexible mode of bicycling."