Smart ride on beach front

credits: Rathan Krishna

Vizag city is developing into a smarter city day by day by being accumulated with a smart way of living and technology. The city, under smart city project, makes way for smart Hexi Cycles on the beach road for cycling enthusiasts.

Known to be the first of its kind in South India as a public bicycle-sharing system, these Hexi Cycles are available at different stations on the beach road.

The blue and yellow coloured cycles with smart features have been proposed by Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) under smart city project. Adjustable saddles, smart lock system, front and rear lights and a duty basket are the key features of the bicycle. The parts of it are anti-rust and the wheels are puncture proof.

Coming to the operational system, to sign up for a ride one should download the Hexi mobile application and get registered with a phone number. The smart cycles available on the beach road can be unlocked by a QR Code developed in the application. Each user is allowed to book the cycle for free for the first five days. He can ride for 30 minutes, drop it at the nearest station provided and pick up another cycle for riding. After 5 days, the user can subscribe to any of the plans mentioned in the application.

The plans provided are:

Six months pass for Rs 1180
One month pass for Rs 175
One day pass for Rs 23

One should pay an extra 5 rs if travelled for more than half an hour on one cycle. The users can take the cycle to other places in Vizag city by paying Rs 5 to Rs 10 per hour.

YMCA, INS Kursura, Pandurangapuram, Children’s Park, Kali Mata Temple, Supreme Hotel and Coastal battery are the available stations as of now. Each station would be bearing 100 cycles.