PESHAWAR: The government-owned TransPeshawar company on Wednesday unveiled a bike-sharing system for the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit project.

In a statement issued here, the TransPeshawar, which is to operate the bus service, said 360 bicycles had reached the city for the ‘Zu Bicycle’ sharing system for which 32 stations had been planned in University Town and Hayatabad areas.

It said the bike-sharing feature of the bus service was one of a kind in the country.

“By adding non-motorised traffic along the entire corridor and providing first and last-mile connectivity, the Peshawar BRT will be promoting pollution-free environment, good health and convenience of commuters,” it said.

Operator says 360 bicycles reached Peshawar for bus service users

“Once customers are registered in the system and have deposited requisite security, they can use the Zu smart card or Zu mobile app to rent bicycles, which can be released from docks.

The bicycle kiosks installed at each bicycle station will have a facility for customers to view the status of their card and access their credentials,” it said.

The TransPeshawar said it understand that the borrowing of bicycles and their safe return after use would be new to the people but a distinctive reward system had been built in the web, mobile and system apps to encourage good behaviours.

It said the BRT users, who took bicycles from the relatively full stations or return bicycles to relatively empty stations, would be rewarded.

The company said all efforts were made to manufacture those bicycles by using unique parts, while to check theft, two trucks with CCTV cameras would be deployed on the route.

“To rent and return Zu bicycle, commuters will use the same Zu Smart card or Zu Mobile app, which they will use for buses. They will acquire bicycle for rent from 30 minutes to few hours and the usage/rental fare will be charged for the rental time,” it said.

The company said with a feature of the one-size-fits-all design, the bicycles had a step-through frame, which helped mount and dismount a bicycle easily.

It said a total of 32 bicycle stations were planned in the University Town and Hayatabad.

“There will be several bicycle docks in Peshawar University and Hayatabad with kiosks to facilitate users to reach the final destination after getting off the Zu bus and vice versa,” it said.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2019