Roamer Technologies, a Tech Startup at the National Incubation Centre (NIC) in Islamabad has launched ezBike, a city-wide electric bike sharing service.
ezBike, powered by Jazz, has been launched this Wednesday in the capital and aims to revolutionize the eco-friendly transport industry of the country. The Startup has launched an application and has deployed electric bikes around the city. Users can conveniently unlock the bike through the application and ride it till their destination where they can park it at the nearest designated zone, ready to be used by the next user.
The statement issued yesterday says that the service takes 5 rupees to unlock the bike and then an additional 5 rupees for every minute you use it. A total hour nonstop would, this way, amount to 305 rupees. The rider can also pause to run errands or the likes; pausing a ride reduces the minutely rate to a low 2 rupees. Payments can be made through JazzCash – ezBike has partnered up with the cellular company Jazz through Jazz xlr8 to smoothen the payment process for the service.
Roamer Technologies’ CEO, Mr Mohammad Hadi pointed out hat only 10 percent of the Pakistani population owns a motor vehicle. “With ezBike we are providing access to shared vehicles to every individual in Pakistan. This is the next wave of disruption in mobility. It will be the most cost-effective, convenient, and environmentally friendly mode of transportation in Pakistan, and in a COVID-impacted world, self-drive provides a safe way for people to move around Islamabad while maintaining social distancing.”
The launching ceremony was held at the NIC Islamabad. Many known dignitaries, including IT & Telecom Minister Syed Aminul Haque were present at the event.
“It is a proud moment for Pakistan that innovative companies like ezBike are being launched in Pakistan,” said the Minister. “The future of Pakistan lies in Information Technology and without tech innovation we cannot progress. Electric vehicle technology is the biggest game changer for the mobility market and our government will support startups that want to leverage this technology.”
He also mentioned that this service could be particularly useful to women all around the city. It can provide them with a safe a fast way of commuting. The Ministry, he mentioned, will continue to support such projects that help better the lives of the common public.
Syed Aminul Haque went on to give a special mention to Jazz and other public and private partner for their valuable contribution to the project: “We would also like to acknowledge the role of Jazz in supporting the Startup ecosystem through our national network of incubators. I would like to congratulate public private partners such as Ignite, Jazz xlr8 and Teamup that are proving to be an effective catalyst in scaling-up the startups.”
Bike sharing companies have come to be the next big thing when it comes to public transport. As Mr Hadi mentioned, with the Coronavirus roaming our streets, people feel much safer travelling on their own as opposed to on a public transport with other people in close vicinity. With ezBike, Roamer Technologies aims to deploy over 2,000 vehicles within the next year to make travelling alone a more accessible idea. They also aim to bring millions of dollars in Foreign Direct Investments into Pakistan, which will greatly benefit our economy and our GDP.
