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Bicycles getting crushed under India's rushing prosperity by Neeraj Kaushal

It is the 21st century version of the classic rabbit and tortoise story. Last weekend, a group of cyclists decided to race against Jet-BlueAirlines in Los Angeles when one of its busiest highways was shut down for construction and renovation. To help people get across the town fast, JetBlue started a special flight service. A group of cyclists decided to challenge the airlines to a bikeversus-airlines race. It turned out to be a door-to-door race covering 60 kilometers.

The cyclists and the airlines passengers started the journey at the airlines recommended time. The cyclists covered the distance in an hour and 34 minutes. The airlines passengers of course had to first go to the airport, an hour before departure , take the flight which took 45 minutes, and then take some transport to reach the scheduled point of arrival. The cyclists had reached their destination and won the race even before the flight took off. The moral of this incident is also fitting with the challenges of our times - pollution, congestion, energy conservation , efficiency, and obesity.

As it turned out,bicycles can compete with the faster means of transportation (cars, planes) that are expensive , guzzle energy, and cause pollution and traffic jams. Bicycles are inexpensive, good for the environment, and least likely to cause jams. The added bonus: cycling is a good exercise and helps reduce obesity, a serious health problem afflicting almost a third of the US adult population and its incidence is growing in developing as well as rich countries.

Bicycles are back in fashion in the West and serve as important means of transport for short distances. Governments - local and national - are providing incentives in the form of tax subsidies as well as better infrastructure to encourage bike use. Many global cities like Paris, London, and Amsterdam , provide userfriendly facilities for parking and renting bicycles. Since 2006, the US government has doubled spending on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure even as all other state and federal expenses are being cut. The country has one of the lowest bicycle use in the world - about 1% of all commuting.

Netherlands is the biggest user with biking accounting for 30% of daily commuting, followed by Denmark, at 20%. It may not be a total coincidence that the people of these two countries rank among the top in the happiness index of the Gallup 2010 survey. India is the world's second largest producer of bicycles. If world demand for bicycles rises, we hope to benefit from it. Unfortunately, bicycle use in major Indian cities has steadily declined over the years.

In 1960, bicycles accounted for 60% of all commuting trips in Delhi. In recent years, their share has fallen to 4%. There are two important explanations for the near-disappearance of bicycles from Delhi roads. The first one has to do with the social ranking of bicycles in our society. Bicycles - or cycles - have been the poor man's transport . The emphasis here is on man and poor. It is rare to find women cyclists on Delhi roads. Most parents do not like to teach their daughters how to ride a bike, whereas biking is an integral part of the parental guide to raising boys.

Cycling also does not go with Indian women's dress code - saree or duppatta. Indeed , biking in a saree or salwar-kameezwith duppatta increases the risk of choking or other accidents. As an aside, there is a small literature on the contribution of bicycles in women's liberation. Susan B Anthony, the legendary American civil rights leader, had once famously remarked, "Bicycles have done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world." In 2006, the Bihar government started providing free bicycles to girls once they reach class 8. A few other states have followed this scheme with some modifications. Will these schemes improve woman's status? We certainly hope so.

Back to the link between bicycle use and incomes. As incomes increase, people move from bicycles to public transport, scooters, motorcycles or cars. Given the connotations of bicycle to social status, in India, even when it is the most efficient transport, many do not use it. The second factor for the decline in bicycle ownership and use relates to the enormous and chaotic traffic growth. Vehicular traffic in Delhi has doubled over the past decade. Bicycle riders are the most vulnerable in such traffic if they do not have a lane exclusively reserved for them.

While there are bike lanes in some areas in Delhi, cars and autos often squeeze their way into these lanes or use these lanes as parking lots. Delhi traffic and roads are a nightmare for bicycle riders as well as pedestrians. Over the past 10 years, the population of Delhi increased three million. Many highways and expressways have been built to accommodate the resulting rise in traffic. There are areas where roads have been expanded by eliminating sidewalks. Often, car-owners unscrupulously use sidewalks to park cars. Robbing pedestrians of sidewalks increases traffic and traffic-related accidents.

The National Crime Records Bureau has estimated that 30% of all fatalities on Delhi roads involve pedestrians. In Delhi, pedestrians and bicycle riders are becoming endangered species. Safe sidewalks for pedestrians and separate lanes for bicycles are essential for an efficient public transportation system that depends on multiple modes of transport. The added bonus: less pollution, healthy, better looking, and happy people.

(The author is Associate Professor, Columbia University)