Mobikwik ex-VP to launch bicycle app with $500K investment

Ex-marketing head of mobile wallet Mobikwik Akash Gupta is planning to launch bicycle hiring service Mobycy with an initial investment of USD 5,00,000.
"People spend more time and money to cover their last mile connectivity. When people will come out of metro or bus, they will find our bicycle parked at drop point. They can scan QR code on bicycle to unlock it, and manually lock and leave it when they reach their destination. Their ride will be completed after they lock the bicycle," Gupta told PTI.
He said there are challenges of traffic, pollution in bigger cities, which Mobycy aims to resolve along with contributing to fitness of the people.

"We have received seed funding of USD 5,00,000 (around Rs 3.32 crore) which will be invested to roll out the service in 4-5 cities in a week from now. Our plan is to expand service from 12 cities in 6 months to 20 cities in one year," Gupta said.
The service will be rolled out with 5,000 bicycles - in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Chandigarh and Faridabad - and later scale it to 50,000 bicycles across 12 cities.
"The ride will cost people around Re 1. It will be available on subscription basis. We will offer 60 rides for Rs 99 a month with security deposit of Rs 999 to general commuters, and for students in college campus it will be 4 rides a day, while monthly fee will remain same," Gupta said.

There will additional charges if ride time crosses one hour, he said.
"We have already tied up with 3-4 (state) governments where we are launching. Mobycy has further partnered with 15- 20 institutes," Gupta said.
The service will be available for general commuters from 6 am to 10 pm, and in college campuses it will be available round the clock, Gupta said.