Riding towards sustainable future


By Aditi Roy

New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANSlife): Big city commute is mostly characterised by much hustle-bustle and the jostling crowd. Conventional modes of transport have become the lifeline and ubiquitous to such cities and their individual identity. With urban India gradually adopting the concept of 'sustainability', there has been a need to develop an alternative, greener mode of transport.

This is how the story of Mybyk started. Brainchild of its founder Arjit Soni, this Ahmedabad-based bike-sharing startup believes in making transport accessible, hassle free and convenient. A Chartered Accountant by profession, Soni conceived the idea in Mumbai while travelling in the busy local trains in the Maximum City.

Bicycle as a means of sustainable transport may not be convenient for long distance commuting. At the same time, public transport suffers from the problem of first and last mile connectivity.

Where does Mybyk come in? It merges the two to provide a seamless solution to end-to-end users.

Mybyk currently operates in Ahmedabad, Soni's hometown within network of 30 Hubs connecting to the BRTS and recently expanded in Mumbai with the Mumbai Metro Line 1 starting from Jagruti Station.

"The Mumbai project is currently a 6 months pilot to prove user acceptance and operational viability of the product. Post this pilot, we expect MMRDA, MCGM and MMOPL to create a dedicated infrastructure (space for stations near public transits) and subsequently safe and dedicated cycle lanes to launch this on a large scale, " Arjit Soni said on his recent project.

The commuters can rent the bike at just Rs 2 per hour to go to their home and office to and fro.

Since its launch in 2014, the startup has expanded to a fleet size of 5500 cycles across multiple cities and growing.

"It is a big step towards making the city environment-friendly as well as bicycle-friendly. MMRDA is always looking for innovative solutions to enhance commuting experience and enable first and last mile connectivity across the metropolitan region," says RA Rajeev, Commissioner, MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority).

Moving ahead, what about the competition Mybyk is looking at?

"There is no competition in the market who is focussed on cycles. Many players have tried and failed with cycles and now trying their luck with e scooters and other forms of electric mobility," quips Soni.

The company currently caters to both B2C and B2B segments and counts Reliance, Tata, ISRO, Adani Shantigram Township, ONGC, SRF Chemicals Ltd., etc.among others.

Notably, MYBYK operates both into B2C as well as B2B models. Where does it want to put more thrust in the coming days?

"We are focussing on both. B2B is a healthy sustainable business whereas B2C is where we see scale but requires initial cash burn. In the end our goal is to help build sustainable cities as well as campuses," says Soni.

 

 

  

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