BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) will frame a standard operating procedure (SOP) to revive the usability of ‘Mo Cycles’ that are rotting in open at different docking stations and yards following failure of the public bicycle sharing (PBS) system in the city. BSCL CEO and BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange on Friday clarified that the cycles will not be distributed free of cost as speculated.
He said the SOP will be framed after holding discussions with different stakeholders to revive the PBS system that had been launched in the city during the Hockey World Cup in November 2018 to promote eco-friendly and traffic-friendly mobility. “We will consult stakeholders including schools, colleges, communities as well as others who are willing to use the cycles and also support BSCL and BMC in their regular maintenance. The ownership of the cycles to be provided to stakeholders after getting feedback will always be with the government,” he said.
The commissioner said Covid-19 pandemic badly hit the Mo Cycle service in the city, resulting in a sharp decline in use and damage of a large number of cycles.“All the damaged cycles will be repaired and placed at locations or given to stakeholders to improve usability,” Kulange said. Hundreds of cycles bought by BSCL in November, 2018 for Rs 25,000 each are lying unused in the city.
The service introduced was being managed by the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) till October 2020. Later, it was handed over to BMC and BSCL which also failed to ensure the cycles’ regular up-keep through private firms. The subsequent outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic further affected the service.
Alleged sale of some of the cycles to a scrapyard in July, 2021 also led to massive criticism, forcing the BSCL to lodge an FIR against one of the private firms managing the service.