If you have guessed it already, yes! We're talking about the trending SmartBike App. Those Azure-coloured bike stations banners, mostly found outside some of the major metro stations in the city are quite popular now, helping you zoom away (at your own pace, of course) on bicycles for short distance travelling at super nominal costs.
Having won approval from Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to set up an awesome (and environmental-friendly) public bike-sharing system in the city, we now have over 35 SmartBike stations offering nearly 470 bikes in total for renting. And no, they're no ordinary bikes. The fancy-looking cycles are known as smart bikes, offering front and rear LED lights, three gears for speed control and inbuilt GPS. Light-weight and operated by an app, these cost you only INR 5 for 1 hour and INR 9 for the next thirty minutes.
We checked these bikes out at Marina Beach on a Sunday morning and loved the experience. You just need to download the SmartBike app, pay INR 1 for registration and then you can start renting. You can even park the bike without stopping the rental, using park mode on the app. Once rented, you can return the bike at any official SmartBike station, using the map on the app.