Mithun MK By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Fancy commuting using swanky app-based cycle sharing service set up at Miyapur Metro Station? Remember to carry your Aadhaar number with you. At a time when misuse of the 16-digit unique identification number of citizens is being rampantly misused, and when the Supreme Court is hearing pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the programme, a private entity seeking Aadhaar details has come as a matter of concern for citizens and activists.

The app-based cycle sharing service ‘Nextbike’ is the first to set up such a facility at the station. It was launched about a week ago without much fanfare. The docks for the app-based cycle sharing service was ready at the time of metro opening in November 2017 but the service was delayed as the app needed to be fine-tuned to service Hyderabad customers, said a customer executive of Nextbike.Registering on the app is pretty straightforward, the app asks for your phone number and name but accepts payments only from Visa or MasterCard. “After the payment is done, you have to send a scanned copy of your Aadhaar card an d a photograph. The registration will be approved after a day. You have to the call the customer care and they will send you the code to unlock the bike via SMS,” the executive added.

“Whenever you are sharing your Aadhaar, ensure that you know the purpose for which it is being collected by the service provider,” the official handle of the UIDAI had tweeted on November 17, 2017 to create awareness among citizens. Further, the UIDAI clearly mentions: “Please ensure that you delete the local copy of your Aadhaar downloaded on any public machine to avoid its misuse.”

So, why would a cycle service provider need your Aadhaar details? “It’s for security purpose and to prevent any theft,” said the executive. It’s, however, worth mentioning that these bikes have an in-built GPS facility and are widely in use across many countries. Express tried to reach out to the Hyderabad office of Nextbike for a comment and also reached out to the companies twitter profile seeking clarification, but did not receive a response at the time of going to print.

So who is using the service?

“In a day there are 40 to 45 people using the bike service but none of them are Metro commuters,” said the customer executive. “The station has a good footpath and a lot of people come here in the morning and evening for walks. They use the bike for cycling up and down the footpaths,” he added.