First e-bike rental service at Tiruchi railway station a big hit

Chennai: The e-bike rental service that was inaugurated at Tiruchi railway station on Thursday is turning into a big hit with enquiries pouring in for the facility. Currently, the service is from 9 a.m. to 9.pm. Incidentally, this is the only e-bike rental service in Tiruchi district. The e-bike centre is providing bikes on rent at Rs 50 per hour but customers have to deposit Rs 1,000 as security deposit and have to provide copies of Aadhar card as well as driving license.

The rental company that is associated with the Southern Railway said that they are presently providing e-bikes on an hourly, daily, and weekly basis but more enquiries are for hourly services. Ganesh Babu, a daily commuter from Tiruchi Railway station while speaking to IANS said, "It's a good initiative but railways should avoid taking security deposit as people will shy away from the facility after one or two drives for curiosity. Railways can themselves stand guarantee for the e-bikes rather than taking money from customers."

He said that the bikes have inbuilt GPS facility and are traceable and that there was no reason for levying security deposits. Interestingly, the facility can be availed of by people who are not even railway commuters or rather travel by rail is not a necessity to use the e-bike facility at Tiruchi railway station.

The e-bike can travel up to 130 km on a single charge and according to employees in charge of the e-bike centre of Tiruchi railway station, it cannot be used outside of the district at present. If the bike faces any technical glitch, the employees of the e-bike centre at the railway station will reach the spot and pick it up.

The student community of Tiruchi is also excited by the venture but the security deposit is a discouraging factor for many. Ashraf Ali, a second-year engineering student at a private engineering college in Tiruchi while speaking to IANS said: "The idea is rocking and we are happy that it has first come in our place in Southern Railway but the rider is we don't have money for the security deposit. Railways should trust us and provide the vehicle at an hourly or daily rent and there will be a lot of takers. Anyways, the vehicle has GPS and our Aadhar and driving license copies are being provided. Hope Railways will respect the feelings of the student community."