HYDERABAD: Remember there was a time when we would rent bicycles for a few pennies at the shop at the corner of the street and return then in a couple of hours? These young engineers have rehashed the idea to suit today’s generation and the idea is eco-friendly, cost-efficient and practical for many. Epick Bikes is a new brand of electric bicycles which are all set to hit the market, open to rent for as less as Rs10 for an hour. Conceived by five engineers - Aradh Vemula, Rahul Reddy, Anand Bharadwaja, Vamsi Krishna and Sachin Govind - passed out of NIT Warangal, who were a team since college, Epick Bikes was a result of a problem they themselves faced.
Aradh Vemula, the co-founder of Epick Bikes shares, “When we were all working in various MNCs in Delhi, travelling was a hassle even if it was just home to work. We all had our personal vehicles back at home in Hyderabad but we couldn’t use it there. So we figured an electric bicycle is the best choice for us. And as it turns out there was only one good brand of an electric cycle in the Indian market and that too was quite outdated. It had servicing issues and was quite expensive to purchase too. So understood that there is pain point and built on that.” Once they had their Eureka moment, they went on to quit their jobs in 2016 and move back to Hyderabad to work on Epick Bikes, a variant for epic bikes.
For the acquainted electric bicycles are in easy terms, a cross between an electric bike and a cycle. It isn’t meant only for those who are fit enough to cycle distances due to its electric motor that can be activated, making it work like any scooty would.
After a lot of research among their peer group about how they would like to switch to electric bikes and what they would want in it, all five of them put their heads together to design the bike until finally they had a prototype ready. “We did not want to jump into selling immediately, because for anyone to even consider buying a bicycle however advanced for `30,000 or so could be daunting. We figured that the rental model will help us understand the initial market and it will also get the customers aware and accustomed of the product,” says Aradh. Their initial research gave them the insight that hostelers, non locals and students in universities will potentially use Epick Bikes. So they are planning to set up rental hubs in premises like those.
Here’s how it works: Anyone who downloads the app onto their mobile will get a clear view of where these bikes are located and how much battery they have for the user to pick. Once the user reaches the location of the bike, one click on the app to unlock will send them an OTP which when entered on the keypad on the bike will unlock the electric lock. “We want to keep the manual operation to the minimum,” says Aradh.
Their rental system is surprisingly affordable for the high-tech systems that they have in place. “The tariff is completely time based. It would cost a person `10 per hour for a bike. After three hours, it will cost `60 until 10 hours. The idea is that if there is a working professional or a student they can rent it for an entire day without paying for every hour. There is a monthly subscription of `2,000 too where the user can pick up a bike at any time for however long while the service and battery will be taken care of at the hubs,” shares Aradh.
Epick Bikes which currently are rotating 15 bikes plan on making the number 50 by the end of next month. Rental hubs will be emerging in a few hotspots that they marked. These include hostels, University of Hyderabad and also a few metro stations reveals Aradh. “We are very excited to introduce pollution free, cost effective and most convenient commuting solution on to the city roads,” he concludes on behalf of his entire team.
— Srividya Palaparthi
srividya.palaparthi@newindianexpress.com
@PSrividya53