Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Powered by pedals
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Imagine the happening city rid of cars. It's like the stock markets crashing. Tomorrow being Car-Free Day, ROHINI MOHAN discovers some people who actually prop up the bicycle
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HOW WOULD it be to hear only the tinkle of bells on Bangalore's roads? No deafening horns, no raging maniacs drunk on speed, no carbonated odour in the air you breathe. This day is not too far into the future. You can wait till May 23, 2004, can't you?
`air', the voluntary movement that promotes cycling is organising `Car-Free Day' in Bangalore, for the second consecutive year on Sunday. Car-Free Day? Oh come on, this is Bangalore! People here rev up their engines even when they want to take a walk!
"We definitely cannot replace a car with a cycle — it would be dumb to even think that," says G. Krishnamurthy (Krish), who founded `air' along with Renu Ohja and Navin. "What we are trying to do is be practical. We want people to use appropriate means of transport for different distances." Launched in April 2002, `air' aims to sensitise Bangaloreans to the city's environment, and motivate them to cycle more often, especially to run small errands around their homes and offices. "Paying your bills, rushing to the bank, and going to the gym can be done so much more quicker on a cycle," says Renu. So, there is no need to intimidate your grocer by pulling over in your car to buy a kilo of onions. Using a cycle will not only bring down the pollution levels in the city, but it is the healthiest activity after swimming.
Succumbing to the worldwide love affair with the car, even Shanghai, the world's biggest centre for the cycle industry, had turned its nose up to the humble cycle.
Nevertheless, their ban on cyclists was only applicable for the main thoroughfares. In Beijing, cars with certain number plates are not allowed on the streets on particular days. Cities such as Toronto and Michigan have stipulated days on which nothing but a cycle must traverse the roads. Will these global trends transpire in Bangalore?
The people at `air' feel that it is premature to involve the government and administrative officials so early in their mission. It might be reasonable enough to ask for cycle lanes around lakes and in parks. "But if we ask the government to make these lanes, they in turn ask us if the number of cyclists in the city warrants it," says Krish. "So our first priority is to get people to cycle. It is purely a voluntary exercise."
Since the lower middle class already moves around on bicycles, the movement is mainly targeted at IT professionals and other desk jobholders, who can cycle to and from work. In case of folks with cars, money does not talk. "Everyone knows cycling is good for health and the environment. But to make people act, we want to add attitude to cycling and make it a fun thing to do."
But why target cars when the main villain in Bangalore is the two-wheeler? "Two-wheelers are so utilitarian that even the suggestion of phasing them out will be scoffed at. Moreover, it is cars that have proved to be the main cause for gridlock."
People often wonder if a bicycle will be faster than a car. Anyone who has witnessed the germination of a traffic jam will tell you that the culprit is usually a reversing or parking car. But what about safety for cyclists? "Once people get on cycles, we hope the experience will make them respect the cyclist," says Renu. "People will think twice before bumping a cyclist off the road the next time."
The bicycle may be associated with the past, but it is also the perfect answer for the future. U-turns, one-ways, narrow roads, dug-up lanes, parking worries... Bangalore is bogged down by the traffic that its economic success has generated. A buzzing metropolis is popularly considered a better ticket to foreign investment than one tinkling with bicycle bells. But the real advantages should challenge the dominant model of what it means to "look good".
When you're stuck in a traffic jam in a car, knowledge that the gross domestic product has just risen by two per cent isn't much of a consolation.
If you want to join the 2000-odd cyclists on Sunday, register at www.airzone.org. For further details, email krish@airzone.org.
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