PMC issues work order for e-bike rental service
VTRO Motors Private Ltd has been appointed to set up charging stations in 15 ward offices across the city
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Friday issued a work order to a private firm to introduce e-bikes on rent and set up 250 charging stations across the city in the next two months.
VTRO Motors Private Ltd has been appointed to set up charging stations in 15 ward offices across the city.
“The proposal to implement the e-bike rental project will be done in a phase-wise manner. Initially, it was planned to set up 750 e-bike charging stations, but later we decided to implement the project in a phase-wise manner across the city’s main roads,” said Srinivas Kandul, head of the electrical department, PMC.
“We would like to see people’s response to the project before beginning phase two in another 250 locations,” said Kandul.
Under the contract, the company also has to provide only authorised e-bikes and carry out their maintenance regularly and ensure that 90 per cent of the charging stations are operational at any given time.
According to Heramb Shelke, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of VTRO, the service will be launched fully by March 2023 with 6,000 bikes in the first phase at 500 locations.
“We have already completed the initial survey and the excavation for setting up e-charging points will start from this month on Fergusson College and Jungli Maharaj roads. Each location will have four e-charging and six battery swapping points. At some locations, work may slow down due to ongoing Metro rail work,” Shelke.
In the first phase, e-bikes will be available for rent at 250 locations across the city where there would be charging stations too. The PMC will provide its land on lease for setting up charging-cum-swapping stations and parking places as identified by the civic administration itself while the private agency will have to set up all necessary infrastructure and ensure safety measures. The PMC will get 2 per cent of the private agency’s profit for providing the land on lease.
Kandul said, “The work order was issued by the road department on September 30. The company has to first allocate markers for the parking slots besides the footpath, then approach the sky sign department to get the advertisement LED signs approved after paying for them. We are expecting this work to be over in two months, for the vendor also has to coordinate with the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSCEDL) for getting electrical supply. The company will have to set up all necessary infrastructure and ensure safety measures.”
“The company also has to provide only authorised e-bikes and carry out their maintenance on a regular basis, and ensure that 90 per cent of the charging stations are operational at any given time,” said Kandul.