Growing menace of traffic in Chandigarh is making headlines every other day. With festive season upcoming, congested roads, snarling traffic become a norm. Smart City Chandigarh is going to experiment shared e-scooter as an answer to urban mobility. Initially, the project will be evaluated on a pilot basis with fifteen stations set up in crowded areas. Once successful, it will be replicated across the city.
Interestingly, the Panchkula Municipal Corporation started a public bicycle sharing system on August 21. The cycle sharing system that has 200 cycles is spread over 20 stations across the city.
The Furr Company
Delhi based Furr Company has been hired by Chandigarh administration for the project. According to their presentation, multiple centres will be established in densely populated areas and major hubs like bus stations, central market, commercial and education hubs, industrial estates and district centres.
Shared e-scooter mobility features
A control room will monitor the distribution of bikes across the city. Anybody can access the mobile app for booking the e-scooter. E-scooters placed at various locations will be given out on rent for about ₹20 per hour or so.
Shared electric scooter mobility will operate on the following characteristics:
- Pick & drop facility
There will exist a fully automated system. Users will have the convenience of picking up and dropping the bike at any of the centres.
- Provision for verified customers
Verified customers will be able to book the bike through a mobile. Their handset will have a strong verification process based on the Aadhaar card or other KYC details.
- Prompt alarms
Customers will get notified for distance travelled, fare, battery/kilometres he can drive, drop locations, etc.
- Replaceable battery system
This concept does not require any charging dock stations. All the e-scooters will have a replaceable battery. The field team will keep replacing drained out batteries at various locations. They will also manage the density of vehicles at various stations.
- Attached IOT device
Scooters will come with an IOT device. This will assist the control room to keep track of the vehicle. If a person tries to steal the vehicle, it will give out an alarm.
Advantages of shared e-scooter
- They will help in covering long distances.
- This will benefit from last-mile connectivity. For example, if somebody gets off at the bus stand, he can take the e-scooter to the nearest station located in the periphery of his home.
When will the project be implemented?
This concept will be tried before the public bike-sharing project. The project is planned to come up in two months from now.
Public bike-sharing under smart city has been delaying for the past three years. Last time, only a single firm came up. That is why UT had to recall the tender. In the present situation, before the project is implemented, e-scooter mobility will begin on a pilot basis.
News Source: The Indian Express
Image Source: Google Images
