Promises of a bicycle

 

 

Low cost, environment friendly and less traffic propensity has made bicycles an integral part of public transport in many countries. Thus countries which are fighting to tackle traffic congestion, environmental problems, adopting bicycle favoured policies can be a viable solution.

A wide range of benefits, varying from pollution control to health issues, have made this 17th vehicle acceptable and friendly. A study by Worldwatch Institute revealed that Americans drive cars and taxis over 1.5 trillion miles every year. If 5% of this is shifted to bicycles; it could save about $100 billion annually. Besides, journeys in cities are getting shorter; 40% of all trips in the US is shorter by two miles or more and 25% is even less than one mile where the same in Britain touches 50%, leaving greater scope for bicycle. The International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA) estimates that over 2,000 police departments in the United States, Canada, Australia, Iceland and Russia have bicycle units, with some 10,000 officers on bikes. Arrest rates have catapulted by an average 24% when bicycles were introduced in detecting crimes. It helps further to reduce administrative cost too as patrol car costs about $23,000 and requires over $3,000 for maintenance while the same for a bicycle is about $1,000 and $100 annually.

Considering the benefits and increasing public demand, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany have adopted bicycle favoured policies where bicycles cover 20-30% of all trips. Germans use bus lanes for bicycles, special lanes are built at stop points and special green lights are installed to ensure that bicyclists get through the traffic circles before cars. Special lanes are made in Taiwan, China for safe journey. Bike parking spaces in train stations have jumped up four times in 20 years. Peru encourages bicycles on the streets through micro-financing. In such context, with growing urbanisation, urban migration, climate challenges, India needs to encourage bike riding and adopt bicycle-friendly policies.