Battery-powered bikes for hire

Pune based Electrotherm Group has introduced a new service called Switch for renting out YoByke bikes running on batteries. The YoByke bikes will be available through E T Elec-Trans Ltd, a subsidiary of Electrotherm India, which introduced the bikes in India in 2006. Increased use of such bikes would result in a substantial reduction in traffic congestion and CO2 emissions, besides generating local employment. The batteries of the bike are easily rechargeable – just like those of cell phones. Under the renting scheme the company will set up pick-up and delivery points for the bikes. Users can pick up the bikes from any of the delivery points and return them to any pick-up point. They will be charged for the time they keep the bikes, the distance they travel would not matter. Switch will be initially offered for corporate and other customers as a long term service. Later on the company may introduce a short-term version of the service, depending on the response to its services. The Maharashtra State Transport Authority has approved the Pune operations of the Switch service under the rent-a-motorcycle provision of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Act. Users are expected to save about र1000 to र1250 in monthly fuel costs besides saving on the cost of buying a personal vehicle.