Cycles4Change challenge: The dawn of cycling culture in India

10th July 2020 marked the birth of India's Cycle4Change Challenge on account of World Cycling Day. On this day, the government of India made a commitment to make cities safe for cyclists under the Smart Cities Mission by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The challenge had a Test-Learn-Scale approach and was overall divided into two stages:

In Stage-01 of the Challenge, cities implemented low-cost temporary solutions such as testing pop-up lanes, traffic-calmed streets, safe intersections, and other quick interventions.

Through Stage-02, cities will convert these temporary interventions into permanent infrastructure, and scale up across the city.

This challenge showed participation from over 100 cities (107 to be precise).

So, how did cities exactly do it?

1. Identifying barriers to cycling by listening to the people:

The first crucial step was to understand the problems faced by people. So, cities conducted surveys and interviews, engaging with more than 60,000 people throughout the country from different diverse groups.

These included postmen from Rajkot; roundtable discussions with women in Hubli Dharwad and Kakinada; and discussions with children of Aizawl.

2. Making streets and neighbourhoods safe and fun for cycling:

Cities created dedicated cycling lanes to help cyclists ride safely.

Cities like Bhubaneswar, Surat, Kochi, Greater Warangal used traffic cones, bollards, and paints to test out interventions.

Aurangabad reused tyres as planters to segregate their cycle lanes from motor vehicle traffic.

Chandigarh also installed cycle signals to prioritize cyclists at junctions.

New Delhi created a cycle plaza for children in the Lodhi Garden Colony by rerouting vehicular traffic.

3. Creating a cycling community:

Cities aimed at creating cycle communities to bring like-minded people together and promote cycling.

Pimpri Chinchwad, Kohima, Great Warangal, Nagpur, Panaji, and many other cities hosted rallies and cyclothons, bringing thousands of cyclists onto the streets.

In some cities, streets were made into temporary public places by blocking the passage of motor vehicles. People could freely do walking, jogging, cycling, thus enabling newbies to adapt to the culture.

Cities such as Jabalpur, New Town Kolkata hosted cycle repair clinics to make cycle service accessible and affordable, encouraging more people to come onto the streets.

4. Empowering women to cycle:

Cities such as Nashik, New Town Kolkata, and Bengaluru organized training camps to teach older women how to cycle, increasing their self-assurance.

To make cycling more accessible, Kohima, Rajkot, and Chandigarh implemented cooperative bike rental programs and public bike-sharing systems in local communities.

These measures were particularly beneficial for women, providing them with a cost-effective way to navigate their cities independently.

5. Changing everyday behaviour through campaigns:

In cities like Rajkot and Jabalpur, Cycle2Work initiatives were started, where government officials rode bikes to work to encourage citizens to do the same. Rajkot specifically gave bikes to employees, recognized them for their participation, and publicly displayed the carbon savings from cycling.

Other companies also supported the Cycle2Work campaign by offering incentives for employees who chose to bike to work.

Apart from these steps, cities are also putting more efforts and setting up departments focused on cycling with the help of transport experts and government entities.

Over 30 cities have initiated work to adopt a Healthy Streets Policy, which sets out the vision, goals, and the steps required to transform city streets into safe, attractive, and comfortable spaces for walking and cycling.

These all steps if taken properly leaving the greed of money and corruption behind, then it can contribute greatly in making India walking and cycling friendly nation.