Trin Trin bicycles take off on Mysuru roads

India - The public bike share system launched in India's cleanest city

Trin Trin is the Public Bike Share (PBS) system of Mysuru. That PBS has taken off in Mysuru, the cultural capital of Karnataka, is perhaps natural: it is India's cleanest city and air quality is much better than other cities in the country. Early this week, Karnataka Chief Minister CM Siddaramaiah launched the PBS.
Trin Trin is a Karnataka government project, partially funded by the World Bank under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Grant. It is planned and being implemented by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport and Mysuru City Corporation.
As in the cases of many European cities, the system works in terms of "docking stations". The bicycles are owned and operated by the civic administration and its associates, for shared, short-term use by local residents as well as visitors, on an easy rental basis.
The user borrows a bicycle from any 'docking station' across the city and returns it after a ride to any docking point closest to his destination.
The cycles are both manual as well as geared. In the near future, battery-operated cycles too will be introduced. The whole system will be operated by Green Wheel Ride, a Mysuru-based enterprise manufacturing eco-friendly battery-operated bicycles. The Green Wheel Ride has been promoting the culture of cycling in Mysuru.
At present, PBS features 52 hubs - docking stations-and 450 bicycles. The docking stations are automated. Most of them are located near major tourist destinations, like Jaganmohan Palace, Mysuru Zoo, Amba Vilas Palace, Karanji Lake, Chamundi Hills, airport, railway and bus stations, universities and large office blocks. The users have to obtain a smart card which they can swipe and take a bicycle from a docking station. When the cycle is returned, a user fee would be deducted from it.
After taking a ride in one of the cycles, the Chief Minister said, "The initiative is very good. But the bicycles don't appear to be comfortable for people aged over 30 years. Maybe we should keep 100 bicycles for youngsters and replace the rest with quality and comfortable cycles, so the elderly too can benefit from the system." The cycle that the CM chose, unfortunately, had a rather small seat.
There are 6.5 lakh registered vehicles in Mysuru. The effort has been to minimize the use of motorized vehicles so pollution levels come down, and the roads are relatively free of traffic snarl-ups.
As a security measure, each bicycle is fitted with a radio frequency tag as a censor. A rent of Rs 5 and Rs 10 will be charged for the first one and two hours respectively. The authorities are hopeful that the PBS will take off because the weather in Mysuru, unlike the Northern cities of India, is moderate and conducive to cycling. The distances too are manageable. The officials believe that the system will be especially popular with foreign visitors who come in large numbers to Mysuru in winter.

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