A Sustainable Mobility Solution

Metropolitan Bengaluru’s population exceeds  12 million. The motorized vehicles in the city  number around eight million i.e., two-thirds  of the human individuals that the city hosts. Though  air quality of the city is still rated ‘satisfactory’ and  much better than several of the upcountry cities, at  107 on the US Air Quality Index, it is regarded ‘un- healthy’ for sensitive groups.

The fumes spewed by over 83 lakh registered vehi- cles contribute 43% of the pollutants in the air while  dust raised by construction adds another 20%. Posses- sion of motorized vehicles is a status symbol. An aver- age five-member family usually shares three vehicles  among themselves. Lanes and bylanes of the city are  choked with two-wheelers. Yet nothing dissuades a  person stepping out of his teenage to aspire to acquire  a motorbike at the first flush of freedom he gets while  entering a degree course.

This is not the way the city which prided itself on  its gardens, can aspire to be a metropolis free from  pollution, choked roads, mobility hassles, and most  important of all, accidents and road fatalities. Bicy- cles are the most sustainable mode of transport. The  whole of Europe has been encouraging and introduc- ing bicycles in cities and taxing automobiles thereby  encouraging people to opt for the bipeds that do not  guzzle up expensive fossil fuels, cause no fatalities  when involved in accidents with the same kind and  cost next to nothing by way of maintenance. Users  can lift these vehicles on shoulders out of a traffic jam.  And if surveys have to be believed, a cyclist stands a  better chance of covering a 10-km distance in an In- dian city in lesser time than a car-borne individual  would do.

Japan, once the largest manufacturer of cars, has  shunned cars as the mode of transport. It has instead  gone for Metro trains and hired bicycles for last mile  connectivity. It allows bicycle riders to even use foot- paths. Even Washington DC introduced the ‘Capital  Bikeshare’ system a decade ago which has caught  public imagination. 

But then the transit from an automobile to the hum- ble bicycle requires Himalayan will and courage. A  bicycle rider is most likely to be barred from entering  a five-star hotel or an elite club. Motorists consider cy- clists a nuisance and may be heard hurling abuses at  them. A cyclist is treated as an outcast in a social mi- lieu typical of an Indian city. The element of infra-dig  deters many from opting for the most-environment  friendly mode of transport.

A lot of noise was heard on popularizing bicycles in  big cities like Bengaluru. But none has been success- ful. Besides the general low estimation of the mode  of transport, inadequate infrastructure is also blamed  for its deficient rating. 

Some cities, including Bengaluru experimented  with exclusive cycle tracks. But the scheme was soon  abandoned. Width of the thoroughfares does not al- low dedicated tracks for anything, let alone bicycles.  A survey points out that 74% of Bengaluru roads  have just two lanes and another 13% just three lanes.  Pressed amidst humongous traffic, a cyclist has the  least chance to ride safely. But then building a collec- tive will to ditch the motorized transport can still be  an option. It requires collective sacrifice of vanity as- sociated with motorized transport.