HYDERABAD: With Hyderabad Metro Rail deciding to set up dedicated parking space for bicycles, Mobike a dockless bike-sharing app is hoping to set up its first bicycle sharing operations in the city. The China-based start-up is the first of the three major dockless bike sharing startups trying to enter Indian markets in recent times.
The bicycles, made in China can be tracked using an onboard GPS tracker that gives the real-time location of the bicycle on the app. Payment for the hired bicycle is done on an hourly basis, the firm is yet to decide on a payment model for India. “We are in talks with multiple state government and hope Hyderabad becomes the first city to get the service. Mobike is new to India and will be operational by January,” said Sujith Nair, Chief Business Officer, Mobike India. the firm had set up a stall at the exhibition hall for the tenth edition of Urban Mobility India organised in Hyderabad.
Speaking on how the company hopes to the revive the bicycling culture in India, Nair said, “We can either wait for the right infrastructure for bicycles or revive a bike culture in cities that would pave way for the right infrastructure on its own.For this to work we cant just rely on biker clubs, we will require state government cooperation and policy level changes.”
The bike-sharing start-up aims to “blitzkrieg” Indian city roads with their aluminium based bicycles, “We hope that by importing them in large numbers. If lakhs of these bikes are lying around the city there wont be a need to steal or vandalise them,” said Nair. The imported bikes, however, will cost 30 per cent more for Mobike but the company is banking on market demand to cover that cost.
“We are in support of Make In India, and hope to make the bicycles here if there are manufacturers who can meet our technical specifications. As of now, high-end bikes are only assembled in India,” he added. However, Mobibike, a market leader in the dockless bike-sharing market in North American and European countries has been facing stiff competition and saturated markets.