The Public Bike Sharing (PBS) Scheme, launched under the Smart City initiative by the Madhya Pradesh Government and Bhopal Municipal Corporation, marks a significant step towards making the city eco-friendly and smart. Currently, Bhopal boasts 72 cycle stations, 500 regular bicycles, and 75 e-cycles. Now, plans are underway to further expand this scheme by establishing cycle stands at 17-18 stations in the first phase of the Bhopal Metro. However, increasing incidents of misuse and vandalism of bicycles pose a major challenge to this project. Plan for Cycle Stands at Metro Stations Sumit Sen, Operations Manager at Chartered Bike, stated that there are plans to install cycle stands at 17-18 stations in the first phase of the Metro. According to a letter received from Smart City, a total of 27 stations are slated for stand installation, but this work will depend on site approval and availability from the Metro management. The scheme offers an affordable and eco-friendly transportation option to city residents. Regular bicycles are priced at Rs 5 for half an hour and Rs 10 per hour, while e-cycles cost Rs 20 for the first 15 minutes, followed by Re 1 per minute.

 

All bicycles are GPS-equipped and can be rented via the ‘Chartered Bike’ app, smart card, e-login PIN, or mobile phone. On average, 300-400 people utilise this facility daily, with over 700 users on holidays. Operators highlighted that “bicycles are getting damaged due to public negligence and lack of awareness.”

 

They also informed that a team of 10-15 people is engaged daily in maintenance and repairs, but vandalism is escalating both costs and effort. Such incidents are most frequently reported from areas like Boat Club, Misrod, Narmadapuram Road, Baanganga, Bhadbhadha Road, and VIP Road. Appeal for Citizen Awareness Operators and the municipal corporation have appealed to citizens to use the bicycles responsibly and remember to lock them after use. Furthermore, they urged the public to understand the importance of this public facility and refrain from damaging it. They emphasised, “Our endeavour is to make Bhopal a clean and smart city, but public co-operation is extremely essential for this.”