Dubai - The project will be implemented in two phases.
Published: Fri 15 Nov 2019, 11:00 PM
Updated: Sun 17 Nov 2019, 9:08 AM
You will now be able to hire bicycles through your smartphones, thanks to an agreement on bike-sharing service signed between the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Careem.
As per the contract, Careem will operate a total of 3,500 bicycles across 350 smart docking stations in Dubai. The project is a first-of-its-kind bicycle-pool phased programme in the region.
Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, and Mudassir Sheikha, co-founder and CEO of Careem, inked the pact. The project will be implemented in two phases. Careem will roll out 1,750 bikes and instal 175 stations during the first two years of the contract, which runs for 15 years. In the following five years, the operation will grow to its full capacity of 3,500 bicycles.
A smart system will be used to track bicycles, predict high occupancy areas, and connect all bikes through GPS. Careem will implement environmental sustainability methods through operating solar-powered bicycle racks and connecting them to a wireless network. Customers can rent and pay for the bike rides through Careem Bike app.
The service covers several Dubai hotspots such as the Marina, Jumeirah, Dubai Water Canal, Deira, Al Khawaneej and Al Qudra. It will also be available at safe roads of four districts namely Al Qusais, Al Mankhoul, Al Karama, and Al Barsha. The speed limit on dedicated cycling lanes or safe roads has been fixed at 40kmph.
There are many options for the customers while choosing a bike, ranging from daily to annual use at affordable rates, whether regular or pedal-assisted ones. "This agreement is made in implementation of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, Chairman of the Executive Council, and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, to provide options to encourage residents, tourists and cycling amateurs to practice cycling," said Al Tayer.
"It helps people to pursue an active lifestyle and enhance mobility options. It also contributes to RTA's efforts to enhance the integration of different transit modes and provide solutions for the first and last-mile challenge enabling public transport riders to reach their final destinations. "Over the past years, RTA had constructed cycling tracks extending 274km in several places like Saih Assalam, Bab Ashams, Al Qudra, Mushrif, Mirdif, Al Khawaneej and Dubai Water Canal as well as several streets such as Jumeirah, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Al Mankhool Streets. The total length of cycling tracks in Dubai is expected to reach about 631.7km by 2023," he added.
Al Tayer hailed the cooperation with Careem in delivering services that make Dubai a pioneer bike-sharing destination offering an important mobility pattern for residents and tourists.
"Careem Bike offers mobility means to riders of buses, Metro and tram in Dubai covering the first and last mile," said Mudassir Sheikha."We will work with PBSC Urban Solutions to provide solar-powered docking stations fitted with WiFi service."
Bike smart system features:
>Track bicycles
>Predict high occupancy areas
>Connect all bikes through GPS.
>Solar-powered bicycle racks
>Connection through wireless network
Dubai hotspots for cycling
>Marina
>Jumeirah
>Dubai Water Canal
>Deira
>Al Khawaneej
>Al Qudra
>Al Qusais
>Al Mankhoul
>Al Karama
>Al Barsha
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