Articles by Sathya Sankaran

The yellow boards on passenger vehicles have outlived their utility and are causing more harm than good. The carpooling controversy in Bengaluru showed our inability to rethink the rules when faced with behaviour that runs contrary to those rules. Read more: Making carpooling legal in Bengaluru – it’s the centre’s job, not state’s Over the past few days, newspapers have reported that service providers, which help people discover carpooling passengers via an app and charge for its use, will be slapped with a fine since they use white board (private) vehicles for a commercial purpose. The commerce here is charging…

The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) proposed the Inner Ring Metro (IRM), a fully underground 34-km-long metro line to be completed by 2031, as phase 3 in the Comprehensive Mobility Plan of 2019. IRM would comprise 23 new metro stations and six interchanges, considering the completion of all other phases of the metro project. This line was suggested as it connects all major commercial and educational hubs, which might help reduce traffic congestion at the city level. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Transportation Research Lab evaluated this Metro line proposal in February 2020. In a report, they concluded that the…

On January 16, 2021, Citizen Matters arranged a discussion on Bengaluru's Commuter Rail project with a panel of activists who have been campaigning for a rail-based extension to the suburbs. The conversation had Prakash Mandoth, Ex-Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee; Rajkumar Dugar, Citizens for Citizens; Sanjeev Dyamannavar, Praja RAAG; Tara Krishnaswamy, Citizens for Bengaluru; Zibi Jamal, Whitefield Rising; and Sathya Sankaran of Praja RAAG speaking to Meera K and Bhanutej N from Citizen Matters. Some progress The Union Cabinet finally approved the Commuter Rail for Bengaluru in October 2020, a decade after the first intensive campaign for this service began…

While COVID-19 is causing fatalities across the world, it also brought to focus our frailties when it comes to collective action problems. There were forced lockdowns across India, starting late March, that highlighted clean air gains from the lack of vehicle emissions. Social distancing measures and closure of gyms kept people indoors, which meant lack of activity would take a mental and physical toll after a while. Across the world this was a perfect opportunity to promote a clean, healthy and socially-distanced personal transport vehicle called the bicycle. The window of opportunity presented itself and some of us in Bengaluru…

The Bicycle is the simplest solution to the world's most complex problems. As Chris Broadman says in The Guardian, “Pick a crisis and you’ll probably find cycling is a solution”. Cities across the world, including Italy and Spain which have registered high COVID fatalities, are enabling cycling in these troubled times. Berlin, Bogota, Auckland, Budapest, Mexico City are rolling out “emergency” cycleways to boost bicycle use during the COVID pandemic, besides planning an increase in their city’s permanent cycling network. Calgary, Vancouver, Oakland, Philadelphia, Denver, Minneapolis, have opened up some streets only for cycling and walking. In New York, San…

In this series, individuals, citizen groups and RWAs explain how they have dealt with the COVID-19 crisis in a constructive manner. In the fifth part of the series, the Bicycle Mayor of Bengaluru describes the measures he took. I was selected as the first Bicycle Mayor of Bengaluru in May 2018 by BYCS, an Amsterdam-based NGO. I'm one of more than 100 Bicycle Mayors across the globe who are trying to shift transportation in cities to the bicycle. The #CycleToWork campaign I launched in September 2018, has catalysed work commute by cycle; and its online platform has attracted more than…

The draft Comprehensive Mobility Plan for Bengaluru dated October 2019 has been unveiled and opened for inputs from the public. One glance, and you can tell this is Akrama Sakrama for mobility. The document doesn’t hide this fact, mentioning in several places that it is organised to fit in the projects already identified. The tail is wagging this dog. Nevertheless, I took a specific look at the focus on cycling in the document. Among the 10 strategies that the CMP articulates, there was only one mention of the word NMT (non-motorised transport) - in strategy number 3, 'Promote multi-modal mobility…

The #CycleToWork programme launched last year has made tremendous strides in catalysing commute in Bengaluru. The cycleto.work platform allows 'Bicycle Ambassadors' nominated in each company to take leadership to upscale cycle commute in their company. More than half the companies that clock rides on the #CycleToWork platform are situated in the IT belt. So it was just a matter of time before the ambassadors wheeled up to make a statement. Yesterday, we kicked off '#CycleToWork Fridays' as a critical mass event for bicycle commuters, under the leadership of Shilpi Sahu, Sameer Shisodia and Chidambaram Subramanian. The event was held on…

This Sunday, more than 3000 cyclists participated in a ride to mark the World Bicycle Day that is observed on June 3rd. The cyclists gathered in front of the State Central Library at Cubbon Park to make a call to motorists to keep them safe on roads. The event was organised by the citizens’ group CiFoS (Citizens for Sustainability) in association with various government departments. It marked the launch of an year-long campaign #ABetterBangalorean, to sensitise motorists to not harass cyclists and to ensure their safety. The event started at 6 am on Sunday, with cyclists being provided free T-shirts…

Private vehicle growth has choked cities and caused massive loss in productivity. With a growing population, moving to mass transport is the only way to avoid further congestion. But there are inconveniences in choosing public transport. One is the need to make multiple changes which means the transition needs to be smooth. Second, Public Transport never drops you at your doorstep. There is always a last mile which would have to be covered by walk or some other mode. Let’s for a moment assume this last mile segment is solved; as a choice architect, what can the state do to…