Cycling for a cleaner city

Afsar Mirza likes to cycle, a lot. He is known to take his two-wheeler out for a ride to Crescent Lake Road, adjecent to the Chandrima Uddyan, and back to his home at Asad Avenue, Mohammadpur. He says it's the burst of sunlight and the light breeze caressing his skin while cycling past familiar roads that draws him to cycle.

However, this experience may not be available for many. For one, owning a bicycle may be beyond their financial capacity, plus there's also the hassle of keeping a bicycle safe and sound.

This is what bike-sharing service Jobike hopes to address. With their "hire and ride" initiative, Jobike has been working to this end since 2018.

In addition, in an era of looming climate crisis, initiatives that lead to the decrease in carbon emissions are highly valued, and biking is one of them.

Sayma Rahman, Head of Retail Partnership, Grameenphone, is an angel investor and business adviser at Jobike. She told The Daily Star, "Cycling is very popular abroad. It is also one of the most convenient forms of transport. It also keeps people healthy, moving and fit."

"If appropriate bicycle lanes are provided by the government, this would mean less commuting time, fewer accidents and less time wasted in traffic. So, we thought, if it is popular all over the world, why won't it work for Bangladesh, which has one of the most highly congested roads?" Sayma continued. "Bicycles also come in handy during times when you cannot use public transportation, as we've seen during the pandemic."

"Besides personal commuting benefits, we also emphasise small business enterprises that can conveniently manage their supply chains using our cost-effective mode of transport," the investor said.

With DNCC constructing a 9km stretch of road exclusively for bicycle movement in the city's Agargaon area, the possibilities for an easy commute by cycling is becoming more viable.

According to DNCC officials, the bicycle lanes constructed on both sides of the specified road are six feet each, which is above the international standards of five feet for bicycle lanes, thus providing ample space for a "care-free" ride.

In an interview with The Daily Star, Jobike Founder and Chief Executive Officer Mehedi Reza relayed that every Jobike bicycle is GPS enabled and depends heavily on AI-based mobile apps, to ensure "prevention of theft" and "on-demand cycling service".

He also added that the company uses GEO fencing technology, meaning, if any rider goes out of the fence, the team gets notified, and an alert is sent immediately to look for the missing bicycle.

"To make sure our bicycles are available for everyone, Jobike is constantly rebalanced to ensure vehicles are available where our users want them. Any bicycle that is unused for one hour will be taken to an area where it is more likely to be used," said Reza.

Earlier, in February 2020, right before the pandemic hit the country, Jobike had publicly announced the milestone of surpassing one million rides, with around 100,000 registered users. The startup reported that this is roughly equivalent to saving 52,300 litres of fuel.

Sayma Rahman provided an insight into their target groups, "Some 6,500 females have learned to ride bicycles through the Jobike service, available in their respective campuses."

According to Jobike users and team members, the most important side to the initiative is that it leaves a breath of fresh air in the congested urban lifestyle of Dhaka, helping maintain a balance in the environment.

Considering the growing concerns surrounding climate change, the startup is highly determined to build a healthy ecosystem for city transportation and inspire people towards a healthy lifestyle, they added.