Cycle renting system in Majur Gam, East Ahmedabad

A cycle repair shop and also cycle renting place. This shop belongs to Puran Lal and is into cycle repair business since he was 10 years old. But he started renting out cycles only 10 years back.

One of the cycles for renting numbered 26

Puran Lal, 54. Has a fleet of 41 cycles for renting out.

It is a very interesting system of cycle renting in the Majur Gam area of East Ahmedabad. Most of the cycle repair shops in this area about 15 of them, rent out cycle sto the people who are mostly the building construction (brick laying, plastering,etc.) workers/labour. Since they do not work at one location throughout, so according to their need they borrow a cycle as and when needed. The most interesting thing about this system, that is how do they ensure, that the borrower would return the cycle back in time? They rent out cycles only to the people they are familiar or have an acquintance with. Thus, when i asked about borrowing a cycle from him, he refused to give me.

Ajay Kumar, 26 helps his father in running the business of cycle repairs and cycle renting.

They maintain a proper log book in gujrati and charge Rs. 10 per day, or just in rare cases a cycle is available for sometime then Rs.2 per hour.

Most of the cycles are booked by their permanent customers 365 days a year, and there's no chance of new people getting a cycle for a day, as the shopowner doesnt want to spoil his regular clientele.

In case the cycle is lost by the borrower, the shop owner feels that the borrowers are like him, poor people, so he would never force them to pay back, he would be happy with \ whatever the borrower would be able to payback through his savings over a period of time.

Its an amazing system that works only on the basis of TRUST !