Way to go: You can ride an e-bike from Bandra and Kurla stations to BKC

Within the next 10 days, Mumbaiites can kickstart their ride towards an environment-friendly commute: Those who work at the Bandra-kurla Complex (BKC) can take an electric bike (e-bike) to travel from Bandra and Kurla railway stations to their offices.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Friday signed a deal with an e-bike sharing platform to start a pilot scheme in BKC, which is the city’s prominent business hub.

Yulu Bikes, which is

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already operating in Navi Mumbai, will set up 25 zones (like docking stations) in BKC and the railway stations with 500 bikes that can be used for last-mile connectivity. Commuters will have to pay ₹10 to unlock the bike and ₹10 for every 10 minutes of their ride. The app-based platform also provides various wallet-recharge options. When fully charged, the lithium batterypowered scooter can run up to 55km.

RA Rajeev, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA said, “We are constantly looking at promoting non-motorised and green mobility services. The e-bikes will provide first and last-mile connectivity in

BKC.”

Yulu bikes was among the top nine teams selected by the MMRDA in November 2019, when the authority conducted a challenge for smart mobility solutions in the city.

Hemant Gupta, co-founder and chief of operations, Yulu Bikes said, “We have identified zones in BKC and are expecting to roll out the project in a week or 10 days. We will initially start with 20-50 bikes and gradually increase the number based on the demand.”

Citizens can download the Yulu app and locate the nearest bike or zone around them. The bike can be unlocked via scanning the QR code.