Youth warm up to rent-a-bike

Secunderabad: It is 8 am in the morning. School students and office goers scamper to get into buses, autos and metro rail, but there are college students and young men and women who head straight to one of the five metro stations where they could rent a bike for a few hours and those who are willing to spend extra rent out the bikes and vroom away.

The rental bike facility is available at Rasoolpura, Begumpet, Parade Grounds, Nagole and Miyapur. Such is the rush for the bikes that at Begumpet metro station opposite Lifestyle at pillar No 4, there are just one or two bikes left to be hired by 11 a.m. Balu, in-charge for metro rental bikes, Begumpet said, “There are a total of 20 bikes which are availed by passengers in just two hours between 8 am to 10 am. There is an increase in demand because as many as many as nearby degree college students come for the rental bikes.”

The Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) launched rental bike facility at a few metro stations in the city in collaboration with Wickedride.com. For every 1 km, the users are charged Rs 4 and on average the rental bike portal earns around Rs 1500 to Rs 2000 in a day. In general, the passengers cover a distance ranging 20km to 40km in a day but there are instances where metro rail passengers avail vehicle for a whole day and for that they are charged Rs 451. “There are 15 bikes here for rental purpose and it is mandatory for the customer to submit the original Aadhar card and the driving licence to rent a bike,” said Bhargav, in-charge, at Parade Grounds.

Amongst all it is in Begumpet where maximum number of bikes are being availed.  Rajesh, a software employee of a reputed organization said, “It is a matter of concern in submitting the original copy of Aadhar card and driving licence. I fear they could be a chance of misplacement as there is no idea about the security levels at the rental bike stand. Moreover, it is a difficult task to carry the hard copy of Aadhar card on a daily basis.” 

BY Sushma Nagaraju