BANGALORE: Over the last ten years, Bangalore, a pensioner’s paradise turned truly cosmopolitan, has changed drastically, be it the increase in traffic snarls or the raising pollution levels, it is experiencing all. However, various non-profit organisations and governmental bodies have initiated projects not only to bring back the green cover but also to reduce the traffic congestion through the introduction of eco- friendly mode of transport called the bicycles, albeit with a difference. They are the only answer to people who want to join in the battle of bringing back the depleting greenery to the city, which is on the verge of losing its tag ‘green city’. City Express takes a detailed look into the initiatives introduced so far, how practical are they for this IT hub and also how successful they have been, till date.Bicycle sharing project: Automated Tracking and Control of Green Assets is what Atcag stands for and sits apt for the purpose that it is dedicated to. It is an automated bicycle sharing project that was launched as a pilot project by Kerberon Automations in association with the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) last October. The pilot project was launched at three locations in the Central Business District to demonstrate the viability of such a system in an urban environment. Srinidhi Sreedhar, one of the directors of Kerberon Automations said, “Once we launched the pilot project, we had received 300 registrations. Keeping in mind, that we have only 8-9 bicycles, the response so far has been satisfying. We have three stands at present, at the park adjacent to War Memorial on FM Cariappa Road, Anil Kumble Circle and Utility Building Complex. At present on an average, there are 3-4 users per day.” When quizzed on its future expansion planning, he informed, “We want to introduce about 500 bicycles and every half a kilometre, a stand for the bicycles, of course that will also depend on the density and requirement.” Making accessibility possible Malleswaram Accessibility ProjectMalleswaram is well known for its busy roads and traffic commotion, however, one group who call themselves as Jaaga had launched a initiative last December, called Malleswaram Accessibility Project, kin association with DULT, through which they endeavoured to create awareness on the benefits of using bicycle as an alternative mode of transport.Archana Prasad, one of the co-founders of Jaaga, a NGO said, “We conducted 200 different surveys on five different categories, that is, students, household, office goers, informal sectors and the business lot. This was followed by going to colleges like MES and Vivekananda, where we conducted a seminar for about 200 students on the city’s changing climatic phenomenon along with the trends of traffic and displayed the real picture, as to where the city was heading to. This was our attempt to bring a change in the thinking process.”Commenting on the practicality of the project, she further added, “Today Malleswaram does not have proper footpaths to walk, the lanes are so narrow that one vehicle is sufficient to create a blockage and traffic jam, why not transform these lanes into dedicated bicycle lanes. Bringing bicycle as a alternative is very much a practicality, if we take the example of Amsterdam, which was on the same footing as Bangalore is today, and then a massive outcry took place, people started opting for bicycles as a mode of transport and now it is one of the top ten cities in the world known for its quality of living standards. The government is also keen and supportive on such projects, so if we collectively make a statement loud and clear, I am sure we will see bicycles running on dedicated bicycle lanes.”Bicycle lanesThe much hyped demarcated bicycle lanes covering a total length of 42 km became the talk of the town, just a few months back. Since the area has over 50 educational institutions - primary schools to colleges, it aimed to provide a eco friendly mode of transport to these categories specifically.The project was supposed to be ready for inauguration by February, this year. Murali, a member of Ride A Cycle Foundation (RAC-F), a NGO who has been actively participating in the process said, “Hopefully very soon, we will get our first bicycle lane, as work has already started two months back.”On the response that they have garnered so far from the people he said, “It has been phenomenal. People are coming and talking about, taking up this alternative mode of transport. In fact, people from Karnataka are wining in cycle race. You will be surprised to know that Bangalore imports a good number of cycles every year, this makes it evident that we have something we can achieve and our efforts will not go futile.”The dedicated lane will come at a cost of over `2.5 crore and is being supported by the BBMP and DULT. We will have to wait and watch as to when the project comes into effect.
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