MYSURU: Fears over sharing public transport has led to an increase in the demand for renting vehicles for public use among locals of Mysuru.
For first time in the country, Trin Trin a public bicycle sharing system was launched in Mysuru in 2017. Post-COVID, there is an increase in people registering to avail the service. Asha Kerakatty, office manager, Trin Trin said that “The aim of the Trin Trin is to encourage people to use public bicycles, instead of their private vehicles. Many people have registered for Trin Trin service in the past two months and the rides will increase after the opening of schools and colleges.”
Abhishek Chandrashekar, CEO of 'Royal Brothers', a bike rental startup-based in Bengaluru said that they have around 2000 vehicles listed on the platform and 75 per cent of the inventory is on long term booking. “Earlier, we were doing 90 per cent daily rentals but now there is a huge demand for the vehicles on a long term basis. Now 90% of our total sale per day is for long-term rentals (monthly rentals) where the average period is 30 days. The major shift in customers’ mindset during the pandemic is that customers are ready to avail rentals only if we do doorstep delivery.”
B Vindo, who rents vehicles said, “It is very difficult to take all precautions, maintain social distancing and to be cautious without touching any objects when we get into public transport. Thus, I am renting both two-wheelers and trin-trin cycles. People in large number should use bicycles so that it will be helpful to keep our city clean and green.”
Sowbhagya, a commuter in the bus said, "It's the need of the hour to make public transport safer. More passengers get into buses in rural areas and there is no social distancing. The government should take measures to make public transport commuter-friendly."
Mysuru ranked 2nd in Ease of Moving Index-2018
Mysuru City is known as the second largest urban agglomeration in Karnataka. As per the findings of 'Ease of Moving Index -2018', Mysuru was ranked second (after Bhopal) in terms of public transport usage with 74% of commuters using public transport, and 86 per cent of women commuters in the city feel that public transport is safe. The study was carried out by Ola Mobility Institute (OMI-the research and outreach arm of Ola) in 20 cities to lay the groundwork for building infrastructure and sustainable mobility ecosystem.