Customers will soon have the option to hire and pay for bike rides as the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Careem will be launching the bicycle-pool phased program.
Careem will operate 1,750 bikes and install 175 smart docking stations during the first two years of the contract. This will run for 15 years.
In the next five years, the number of bikes will increase to 3,500 bikes. Docking stations will also increase to 300.
HE Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, said the agreement is an 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 His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, Chairman of the Executive Council, and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, to provide suitable options to encourage residents, tourists, and cycling amateurs to practice cycling.
“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,” Al Tayer said.
Careem will use a smart system to track bicycles, predict high occupancy areas, and connect all bicycles through GPS. It will implement environmental sustainability methods through operating solar-powered bicycle racks and connecting them to a wireless network.
The service, which will soon be available on the Careem app and cover 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 is fixed at 40 kph.
RTA has constructed cycling tracks over the past years in several areas 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 Abdulazziz Al Saud, Al Mankhool Streets.
It is expected that the cycling tracks in Dubai will reach about 631.7 kilometres by the year 2023.
