Rushing to offices in luxury cars, gobbling up junk food and lack of exerciseis what we often come across in big cities. Bequeathing a great sigh of relief to those who are juggling their life from the hectic schedule, Athi’s Bicycle Club (ABC) is on a health ride providing bicycles in the major cities of Kerala at a rate of Rs2 per hour.
A cycle enthusiast since childhood, it was M S Athirup’s dream to start a Cycle Club in his hometown, Thiruvananthapuram.In 2011, the software engineer kick-started ABC in the capital city of Kerala. With about 2,500 users, the club also has services in Kochi.The SMS-driven club has cycle racks at 15 major points in Thiruvananthapuram and 14 major points in Kochi and a few at Technopark.
Anyone with a mobile phone can become a member of the club by sending an applicationvia SMS (Type form to receive the application form) to 96455-11155.ABC chargesa membership fee of Rs 500, and Rs 50 monthly. Members can take a bicycle from any rack and return it to any rack. Entire operations are through mobile phones and payments can be made by depositing cash in a drop box at any rack.
“As the people living in cities have a sedentary lifestyle, there are many health problems. ABC will be a great help for the people to stay healthy and our city will be also pollution-free,” says M S Athirup.
ABC also plans to meet shopping complexes, banks, railway stations and bus terminals seeking their help to promote cycling culture and permissionto setup bicycle racks. ABC is now gearing up to start operations in Thrissursoon.
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