This pandemic has taught me the something very valuable. Something, I hope stays with me for a long time. It is the power of exercise. With daily office routine, we exert ourselves a little bit and do not realize what be the consequences of bringing that to a complete halt. It took me a couple of weeks to realize the downsides. I had trouble in sleeping, concentrating and started binging on Netflix and food like a mad sloth. Therefore, I resorted to Cure.Fit to rescue me from this lifestyle.

With lockdown being eased across the nation, I wanted to take this newly developed habit outdoors. This is when the idea of cycling struck me. It was also trending amongst my peers. So I decided to give it a shot. But, before jumping into a new purchase, I really wanted to experiment first. Yes, I am a Punjabi who spent most of his life amongst Baniyas and Gujratis. Any way, I looked up and to my surprise there is an amazing tech backed solution available across the Thane City called COO rides. Let’s explore how to get cycle on rent in Thane city.

How Does it Work?

Coo ride has leveraged technology to enable unmanned, unassisted handover of cycle on rent. Cycles, E-Cycles are docked on a station. You can pick up the cycle from one of the ‘stations’ and drop it on the any other ‘station’ near your destination. Money will be deducted from your the in-app wallet you should have pre loaded. As soon as you approach the cycle, scan the code on the rear mud guard, your phone connects to the cycle. The cycle gets unlocked and you are good to roll. When you wish to end your ride, simply place the cycle back on the docking station and press end ride.

In my experience, there were a few glitches here and there like application would say that cycle is unlocked but it won’t be. At times, ride won’t end. But once you call their helpline number, they tend to respond to the situation pretty efficiently. Overall, I could ignore these glitches as one off cases.

Getting Started:

You can kick this thing off by downloading the COO rides application (iOS/Android). As you create an account, they would seek your Aadhar card and you need to scan the same to get your profile verified. This is a must have before renting. It took about 10 odd minutes for my profile to get verified.

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Once your profile is verified, you can check if there are docking stations nearby your location and your destination. In my case, I used this service for general cycling so I dropped it at the same place where I picked it from. However, for future reference, I know they have a station near Thane Railway Station as well, which can be quite handy.

Cycle/E-Cycle?

I tried both the alternatives. Cycles are well built given the fact they could bear my weight. E-Cycles are also very convenient. They attain a top speed of up to 20kmps and you have the complete visibility of the battery on the panel on the right handle of the cycle. App would also tell you the remaining battery in terms of KMs before you start your journey.

Pricing:

The price point is pretty easy on your pocket. You can either:

1. Pay on the go: Which means you pay a flat Rs. 15 for 30 mins (Cycle) and Flat Rs. 15 for 15 mins (E-Cycle). You need to have a minimum Rs. 50 in the wallet before unlocking a bike.
2. Subscription: If you are planning to rent it on a daily basis, please refer to the image below for the plans. I have currently subscribed to Rs. 250 plan a week ago.

Experience:

Call it my love for technology, but I think you should give this startup a shot. Just for the sake of the experience alone, it is totally worth it. The Indian inside will constantly think what if someone runs away with the cycle? Ways to circumvent and cheat the system, finding the caveats. I do not know the actual number of times they have been duped, but the entire journey seems pretty robust and air tight to me. Even in the worst case scenario, they have your Government ID with them.

I really hate the idea of going to the gym. There are two reasons behind this:

• I don’t see a point in expending energy by running/cycling at the same spot.
• Commitment issues: I have observed that once I pay the membership fee, I am less likely to go to the gym.

By not spending for a new bicycle upfront and with the opportunity to go places, I am hooked to cycling right now.

Conclusion:

When I searched Google for Cycle on Rent near me, I was expecting a shabby store with rude owner with his trillion terms and conditions before renting out to me. However, I was not expecting something like this in my wildest dreams. I had heard of such startups in Bangalore (Bounce) but never knew one would be just next door. In order to motivate you to use more of COO, the app will tell you the calories burnt, distance travelled and CO₂ offset by the virtue of opting a cycle instead of an Auto. Reducing weight and doing good for the environment? That’s a win win! Have you come across this startup in Thane or Mumbai? What was your experience? Let me know in the comment section below or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Until Next Time..