Are public bike sharing companies responsible for customers using streets/footpaths for parking?

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kavya natarajan

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May 20, 2019, 4:46:51 AM5/20/19
to Mobility Innovators

Hello everyone,

 

Over the weekend, several Yulu cycles were picked up by BBMP in Koramangala after complaints from residents that they were obstructing footpaths. 

 

M Chandrappa, corporator, Koramangala, told Bangalore Mirror, “These rental bikes create a haphazard parking situation in Koramangala. People use them and leave them anywhere they want to. All the footpaths and roads are often occupied by these cycles. So, we collected them and took them, but later left them back at the spot. It was just a warning for people this time. In other areas, there are fewer rental bicycles, but in Koramangala there are 900-1000.”

 

Here are links to a couple of news articles:

https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/corporator-tows-away-bicycles/articleshow/69391159.cms

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/bengaluru-bbmp-removes-bicycles-after-corporators-gripe/articleshow/69394380.cms

 

We invite your views on:

 

1. To what extent are companies responsible for their customers' usage of public spaces?

2. Should companies be charged/penalized for usage of streets/footpaths as parking spaces?

 

Thanks,

Kavya

Chetan Temkar

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May 20, 2019, 5:43:24 AM5/20/19
to kavya natarajan, Mobility Innovators
Actually companies should be penalised but they should penalise the users also. Finally the charges for this should be collected from users.
It's sad that in India, when we don't own the bike, we don't care about it. That has to be changed by fines.

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Ranjit Gadgil

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May 21, 2019, 4:59:12 AM5/21/19
to Chetan Temkar, kavya natarajan, Mobility Innovators
Kavya,

I think the questions you are asking are themselves problematic since the reality of the situation is apparent from the news articles. Can these questions be asked in the absence of an understanding about what is the general status of footpaths in the city and the encroachments by possibly lakhs of two-wheelers and cars, as compared to a few hundred PBS cycles?

It would be better to slam the Corporator, as has been rightly done, and ensure that we don't fall prey to such divisive and mischievous behaviour.

- Ranjit

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kavya natarajan

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May 22, 2019, 3:00:33 AM5/22/19
to Mobility Innovators
Thanks, Chetan. Do you think there is a more positive way to bring about behavioral change?


On Monday, 20 May 2019 15:13:24 UTC+5:30, ctemkar wrote:
Actually companies should be penalised but they should penalise the users also. Finally the charges for this should be collected from users.
It's sad that in India, when we don't own the bike, we don't care about it. That has to be changed by fines.

On Mon, May 20, 2019 at 2:16 PM kavya natarajan <kavyana...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello everyone,

 

Over the weekend, several Yulu cycles were picked up by BBMP in Koramangala after complaints from residents that they were obstructing footpaths. 

 

M Chandrappa, corporator, Koramangala, told Bangalore Mirror, “These rental bikes create a haphazard parking situation in Koramangala. People use them and leave them anywhere they want to. All the footpaths and roads are often occupied by these cycles. So, we collected them and took them, but later left them back at the spot. It was just a warning for people this time. In other areas, there are fewer rental bicycles, but in Koramangala there are 900-1000.”

 

Here are links to a couple of news articles:

https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/corporator-tows-away-bicycles/articleshow/69391159.cms

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/bengaluru-bbmp-removes-bicycles-after-corporators-gripe/articleshow/69394380.cms

 

We invite your views on:

 

1. To what extent are companies responsible for their customers' usage of public spaces?

2. Should companies be charged/penalized for usage of streets/footpaths as parking spaces?

 

Thanks,

Kavya

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Ranjeet Deshmukh

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May 22, 2019, 7:06:11 AM5/22/19
to kavya natarajan, Mobility Innovators

A ‘penalty charging’ mechanism/app can be provided by public bike companies where the corporation can scan a bicycle QR code and claim a Rs 5 ‘parking arrangement’ fees if they had to move the bicycles away from footpath and park properly.

They would arrange the bicycle properly if they are getting revenue for the same

Given that corporations may outsource footpath cleaning jobs to different vendors, some safety checks can be implemented such as:

·         Not allowing the ‘parking arrangement’ fees after 6hrs (example) from last usage. So the vendors get paid only if they take timely action

·         Not allowing more than 5 consecutive charges from same app instance within a stipulated timeframe

·         Etc

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Chetan Temkar

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May 22, 2019, 7:08:51 AM5/22/19
to kavya natarajan, Mobility Innovators
Actually there are a few ways that can be tried.
One is of course since this is app controlled one can know who has done it. 
Second, there can be social shaming to show that somebody was negligent, may be without naming but subtly letting them know that you know how it is.
You could make heroes of those who do it the right way.
Also, I agree with Ranjeet and that is also a major problem but that can be used in this also.
On Wed, May 22, 2019 at 12:30 PM kavya natarajan <kavyana...@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks, Chetan. Do you think there is a more positive way to bring about behavioral change?

On Monday, 20 May 2019 15:13:24 UTC+5:30, ctemkar wrote:
Actually companies should be penalised but they should penalise the users also. Finally the charges for this should be collected from users.
It's sad that in India, when we don't own the bike, we don't care about it. That has to be changed by fines.

On Mon, May 20, 2019 at 2:16 PM kavya natarajan <kavyana...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello everyone,

 

Over the weekend, several Yulu cycles were picked up by BBMP in Koramangala after complaints from residents that they were obstructing footpaths. 

 

M Chandrappa, corporator, Koramangala, told Bangalore Mirror, “These rental bikes create a haphazard parking situation in Koramangala. People use them and leave them anywhere they want to. All the footpaths and roads are often occupied by these cycles. So, we collected them and took them, but later left them back at the spot. It was just a warning for people this time. In other areas, there are fewer rental bicycles, but in Koramangala there are 900-1000.”

 

Here are links to a couple of news articles:

https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/corporator-tows-away-bicycles/articleshow/69391159.cms

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/bengaluru-bbmp-removes-bicycles-after-corporators-gripe/articleshow/69394380.cms

 

We invite your views on:

 

1. To what extent are companies responsible for their customers' usage of public spaces?

2. Should companies be charged/penalized for usage of streets/footpaths as parking spaces?

 

Thanks,

Kavya

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Senthil Radhakrishnan

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May 23, 2019, 11:41:23 AM5/23/19
to Ranjeet Deshmukh, kavya natarajan, Mobility Innovators
I think the cycle mobility companies are still struggling to get their feet off the ground. So they would want the customer experience to be as friction less as possible.

The bigger issue is Bangalore doesn't have a footpath in most areas. In many places they littered or even encroached by dustbins/transformers, etc. So asking for public to be sensitive, or keep it tidy, etc...is far fetched.

The rights of pedestrian barely exists in our country. Even in large private IT parks there isn;t much of a walking space - one wonders how such IT parks got govt approval.  They are occupied by large MNCs who normally have stringent EHS guidelines, but have ignored it here.

So to a large part this is like a 'World poverty problem"

Senthil






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