Cycling in Mumbai

Cycling – A Solution or Obstacle in City’s Transportation?

Despite universal acknowledgement for the need of cycles, why is cycling not being integrated into the city’s transport system?

Since ages bicycles have been a common mode of travel in India. But in past decade there is increase in number of car users in India. In 2005, bicycle ownership in Maharashtra was around 30% and overall 40% in India. Cycling and walking accounts for 50 to 75% of the commuter trips in the informal sector in urban areas. Even though India is the second largest producer of bicycles in the world, a significant prejudice against bicycle riding for daily travelling exists in some segments of the population.

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To delve deeper into the topic, our team under the guidance of PUKAR, conducted advanced level research to find out that, Despite universal acknowledgement for the need of cycles, why is cycling not being integrated into the city’s transport system?

While documenting the cycling initiatives across Mumbai we found that everyone, from government officials to elite classes to the common man, has been demanding cycling lanes for many decades. Even though there is not much difference in the number of car users and cyclists in Mumbai, we see more and more urban planners gearing towards developing better infrastructure for cars. The critical question is ‘what is preventing people to adapt to cycling in their routine traveling’

Some of the key observations in our research are as follows:

1. Laziness towards riding bicycles – Bicycle is perceived as an uncomfortable vehicle to commute on a routine basis
2. Lack of bicycle friendly infrastructure e.g. roads and signage’s (Bicycle finds its place very remotely in traffic guidelines but apart from that there are no government documents which acknowledge ‘bicycle’ as either a vehicle or a public utility)
3. Security of the bicycles and lack of secured parking spaces (Bicycles are generally seen tied to a tree or a pole making them vulnerable for theft)
4. Maintenance issues due to lack of proper and adequate service centers
5. Ban of cycles on major roads and flyovers
6. Lack of knowledge of riding bicycles
7. Lack of organized Bicycle Rental Services
8. The presence of anti-cycling attitude of people as per following perceptions:
-> Fear of being ridiculed by other motor-vehicle users
-> Bicycles are often associated as vehicle of low-income groups
-> Stressful to ride in the given climate
-> Not safe looking at the present traffic situations
-> It’s not a fast option for travelling
-> It is not cool to ride a bicycle!

Please visit our webpage – http://wiki.cyclechalao.com/ & citybachao.blogspot.com for detailed reports.

During our research we found that it is not just the cyclists who have to face the difficulties but also the pedestrians. It is as unsafe for the pedestrians to walk on narrow roads, crossings and signals as it is for the cyclist. The city has not come up with proper infrastructure for the safety of pedestrians as well.

Major themes which emerged after a series of interviews with key stake holders in promoting bicycles in the city are as follows:

A. Cycling and Health – Everybody agrees to the fact that cycling is excellent way to be fit and healthy. From doctors to students everyone promotes cycling for better health.
B. Cycling and Traffic Congestion – Now-a-days travelling consumes huge amount of time. The number of motorized vehicles has increased which has led to traffic congestions. In such a case, people are more than before are deciding to switch from their motorized vehicles to using cycles. Cycles can easily get through in traffic and do not get stuck at the signals.
C. Cycling and Increase in cost of transportation – The ever increasing fuel prices have increased the cost of daily transportation, where as the cost of bicycles and their utility remains beneficial to the cyclists.
D. Need for dedicated cycling lanes: Cyclist groups, citizens and students are pushing for dedicated cycling lanes. Government agencies like Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Authority have started conceptualizing the plans to build dedicated cycling lanes in the city.

There is a budding cycling culture in Mumbai. Now, Mumbai has joined the growing group of cities around the world with bike-sharing systems. Two bicycle-sharing programs have just been launched in the northern part of the peninsula – Cycle Chalao! and FreMo, The former was started by a group of students, the latter by a former financial CEO – but they’re both after the same goals: fighting climate change, improving mobility and making Mumbai a better place to live.

While the city is gearing up to add 50 more sky-walks and number of flyovers, what it is missing is a sustainable mobility agenda developing dedicated bicycle infrastructure. Car Free Day, Mumbai – Cyclothon, Critical Mass rides and a social networking site – cyclist.in are some of the citizen led initiatives encouraging the use of bicycles for routine travelling. All these initiatives aim to influence the policy makers to develop cycling friendly infrastructure and promote a renewed cycling culture in the city.