Dattatraya T Devare is a HR professional and an environment activist.He is working on "Tree Preservation/Plantation" and "Equitable and Sustainable Urban Mobility". He is a Trustee of BET (Bangalore Environment Trust).
Lessons learnt globally point to the many benefits of cycling — whether in terms of health, reduced congestion or even greater equality. Yet, whether in Kolkata, Bangalore or Pune, a sustained thrust to promote cycling in our cities is clearly missing.
On one hand, there is a thirst for bigger and more expensive cars. On the other, there is the state’s inability to provide strong enough disincentives and efficient alternatives. Together these are destroying our cities and our communities slowly but steadily. What is the way out?
Citizens look for mainly three factors when it comes to public transportation: efficiency, accessibility, and affordability. Sadly, Indian cities have been ignoring all three, leading to an explosion of private vehicles on our streets and all the associated problems.
In 2018, pedestrians comprised more than 50% fatalities on Mumbai streets; the numbers for Delhi and Bangalore stood at 44% and 40%. Our streets have turned into a battlefield between cars and citizens, and citizens almost always lose.
Thanks to lack of political will and unfortunate US-style aspiration, we have arrived at a sad state of affairs as far as urban mobility is concerned. In this first of a four-part series, the author explains the latent inequality and hierarchy in our city streets.
