Yulu bike ride picking up in Okhla
Nowadays, one sees youngsters enjoying rides on Yulu bikes, electric bike, to have joyrides in the evening and night, making videos and some even posting online.
The eco-friendly bikes which began plying on the road in 2019, has now becoming popular in Okhla area these days.
A family, which visited Nehru Place, said they used Yulu bikes for the first time as last-mile connectivity and found it easy to drive.
Yulu began its operations in the city in 2019. However, according to a media report, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in September last year tied-up with Yulu, a rental bike sharing platform, to provide transport up to the commuters’ final landing point.
Pollution free, Yulu in collaboration with the Delhi Metro offers rides from as low as Rs 5 for every 2 minutes, said a resident.
For many it is a ride keeping you safe from the hassle of other private rides if you plan to travel small areas. Many are found using the Yulu bikes for joyrides.
The CEO and co-founder of Yulu, Amit Gupta, said the miracle bikes are categorised as Non-Motorised Vehicles (NMV) and have no legal requirement for helmets, registration plates or driving license.
“Yet, we always promote the safety of our riders and encourage them to use their helmets while riding. We use our mobile application, social media and website blog to educate the users to follow traffic and safety rules. Our mobile application clearly says that only users above age 16 years are allowed, no drinking and driving, and only one person allowed.”
“Plus, we have warning messages placed on the bike to reinforce that a penalty can be levied if users do not abide by the aforesaid. The same is communicated to the users at various touch points within the app. We also have our field staff in the form of Yulu pilots, bikers and marshalls, in and around the Yulu zones to ensure the best practices are followed with regard to traffic rules and riders’ safety,” Gupta said, reported the HT.
Experts like Amit Bhatt, director of integrated transport at the World Resources Institute (WRI) India, said the “joyride phenomenon is universal”.
“Electric bikes are a new innovation in the area of transport. Our cities don’t even know how to react to them, and then kids think it’s a toy to play with. However, Yulu makers could put in a filtering mechanism in the mobile app which asks the prospective users their age, purpose of using, to ensure that frivolous trips go down and the correct usage goes up,” he said, reported the HT.
