KOCHI: The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has always been in dire need to ensure last-mile connectivity to its passengers. In the backdrop of the state government’s ‘Evolve’ e-expo, the metro agency has received proposals from two-wheeler sharing companies to address the issue. However, the KMRL is in a tight spot as it fears the rival scooter-sharing firms Vogo and Bounce, which are based in Bengaluru, might eat into the metro’s revenue with their low fares.
“We held talks with these firms but haven’t signed any MoUs yet. They are offering the service at Rs 3 per kilometre. As their competition might lead to a lowering of fares, people might opt out of Metro and go for scooter sharing in city circles,” said a senior official of KMRL. Although the scooter-sharing firms will pay the parking fee to KMRL, the agency doesn’t consider it as lucrative.
On the other hand, the scooter firms have ambitious plans for the city. They focus on the 18-50 age group as their prime customers. “We are starting as a pilot project in Kochi at two metro stations and will increase the number of scooters once we see heightened customer traction. It will be a long-term process,” said Padmanabhan Balakrishnan, co-founder and chief operating officer, Vogo.
Echoing similar sentiment, Aayushi Jain, director of policy, Bounce, said the company would bring in a new experience of small trips on shared scooters. “Unlike the hub-to-hub model followed by many similar platforms, we offer a dock-less (meaning that they do not have a fixed home location) approach which ensures legal parking across the city, unlike specific points like metro stations. Residents can find out the vehicles near their homes rather than going to a metro station to use it,” she said.
However, an official from the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) who was at the E-Expo said the ‘sharing system’ of two-wheelers are not permitted as per rules. “Though we understood the possibilities, a few policy-level changes are required in the matter,” he said.
Anti-theft features
The scooters are coming up with a combination of technologies to rule out the possibility of theft. Technologies like GPS, GPRS, Bluetooth and LoRa (wireless radio frequency) will be used. These will ensure 24X7 monitoring of the fleets. “If the passenger moves out of the designated area, we will be able to make it immovable. The nuts and bolts we use are tailor-made and no tools available in the country can take away the body parts,” said Padmanabhan Balakrishnan of Vogo.