Other States - Orissa   

A trend that is on its way out

BERHAMPUR: The number of ‘cycle rental service’ units in the city is getting reduced fast as it is no more a lucrative business.

Yet Berhampur was the only city in Orissa where ’cycle rental service’ was available and it is still the only place where one can still get a cycle for local transportation on rent. But with time cycles have lost their glamour and so have their rental units. "There was a time when people used to consider cycles as precious possessions and it was part of dowry demand. But now even college-going kids feel shy to ride cycles," said Gokul Senapati, a cycle rental unit owner. According to him, a few decades ago very few families had cycles for every male member as a result of which people used to take cycles on rent on hourly basis for outings and marketing trips. But now cycles have become cheap possessions and every child gets a cycle of his own when he or she is in school.

To meet the demand of youngsters the cycle rental service units had started procuring trendy racing cycles to provide them on rent a few years ago. But youngsters seem to be more interested in the bikes. "And we cannot afford to start a rental service of bikes," said Senapaty. There was a time when there were more than 100 cycle rental service units in the city. Each of them used to have stock of more than 100 well-maintained cycles. They even used to change their cycles every few years to provide best cycles to customers. Now their number has gone down to around 20 to 25 units.

Some of these cycle rental service units have slightly diversified their operation. They have now targeted the kids of a locality with the feeling that cycles now only interest the kids. They have started to stock kids’ bicycles and tricycles of different colours and designs.

The parents take these bicycles and tricycles on rent to provide a variety of cycle riding to their kids. But the cycle rental services have some hope in sight with the increase in health consciousness among people of the city. They feel with increased health consciousness people would again start taking trendy cycle on rent from them to lose calories and do marketing at one go.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Unscrupulous traders alter broiler eggs to make money
28 institutions may be blacklisted
Devotees bid adieu to the goddess
Spreading awareness
A trend that is on its way out
Catholic youths to discuss quota
Berhampur weavers worried
Alok Mela inaugurated
Train services disrupted
War for advertising space in capital
ECoR release on berth availability
Plastic to their rescue

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu