PUNE, INDIA (Metro Rail News): Today, on 26th August 2021, Maha Metro’s Managing Director, Dr. Brijesh Dixit along with officials of Pune metro, travelled through the metro from Phugewadi to Sant Tukaram Nagar and vice versa whilst carrying the bicycles with them on board the metro train. The travel commenced from the Phugewadi station and culminated at Sant Tukaram station. On reaching the Sant Tukaram station platform, the officials got down from the platform using the lifts with their bicycles and got out from the station.
Thereafter, all officials moved from Sant Tuakarm station to the Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam Garden riding their bicycles and back to the Sant Tukaram Station, then to the Phugewadi station, using the metro train.
Metro wants to emphasize the usage of cycles onboard of metro train and how convenient it is for students, office staff, delivery boys, courier boys, and as a matter of fact, for anybody who is on an on-field job and it will be immediately helpful to the citizens of Pune, they can easily make the use of the metro to travel to different parts of the city.
Metro is a safe, eco-friendly, and rapid transit mode of transport. Metro has a separate coach for women and girl students, Nari Shakti so that they can commute safely and independently. Also, all the stations, platforms, and coaches are equipped with CCTV surveillance which will help prevent any untoward incidents on the stations.
Once upon a time, Pune was a cycle user’s city but over the years because of the unavailability of robust public transport use of two-wheelers and four-wheelers increased disproportionately. This led to uncontrolled vehicle population, congestion in traffic, pollution, cost of travelling, and time. The Maha Metro urges people to use bicycles so that Pune again goes back to its glory-‘City of Cycles’.
Owing to the use of bicycles onboard metro trains, the issue of first and last-mile connectivity will be addressed, this will also integrate the two modes of transport- metro and cycle. It is a kind of Multi-Modal Transport integration (MMT).
On this occasion, the MD of Maha Metro said, “Cycle is an eco-friendly mode of transport. Since the metro is allowing cycle onboard the metro trains, it will help commuters immensely. For cyclists, various signages and instruction boards will be kept on stations and trains. I am sure Punekars will use this facility to the fullest extent”.
