Of late, there has been an onslaught of cycle sharing apps that have come into the market.
My best memories of a kid were of spending hours on my cycle. Back then, cycles didn’t have any gears and neither did we wear helmets. We also didn’t think much about cycling on busy roads as the traffic was considerably lesser.
I have had many friends who enthusiastically bought cycles in a bid to start cycling and get fitter, only to have the costly cycles lay neglected in their basements. I too have been tempted to buy a cycle but held myself back when I really began to think about how I would use it.
In India, cycling is still mainly a fitness activity. Early in the morning on weekends, you will see avid cyclists who cycle long distances, sometimes in large groups. The advent of bike sharing apps like Pedl, Yulu, Yaana and Bounce have meant that more people have access to cycles on a rental basis. This helps as now, one need not shell out a considerable amount of money to buy a costly cycle and rue about not using it properly.
When a cycle sharing app allowed people to rent their cycle for a whole month, I jumped at the opportunity. I could finally experience for myself how life with a cycle will be.
The cycle was great. When there was a small hitch in a couple of days, the service was good and prompt. I even taught my younger nephew cycling, which was a big bonus.
At the same time, there were a few things that I realised about owning or renting a cycle in India after my month long experiment:
a) Safety Measures: The cycle I rented was good but there was no headlight or bell on the cycle and neither was a helmet provided. In traffic, however fancy your cycle, you will not be able to keep up with a motorized vehicle. This also means you cannot compromise on your safety. It may well be an added cost but riding without a helmet or a light when it’s dark is risky. While this may work in developed countries where there isn’t that much traffic on the road, in crowded countries like India, local conditions need to be taken into consideration before launching such ventures.
b) Parking Docks: This isn’t necessarily something that can be solved by the apps but a concerted solution is required. If I take my bike out, I have to worry about finding parking or my bike being towed off if it is parked in a no-parking area. The odds of anything happening to the bike are remote. But with a cycle, one of the headaches is parking. I took it to my yoga class because there was a security guard there but if i take it to a market place, I have to spend time looking for something like a pole or a fence to tether it to. If there is a paucity of time, I would rather just take my bike. More parking docks will make parking cycles easier.
c) Accessibility: A couple of weeks back, I noticed something odd. In a half-a-kilometre radius, a cycle sharing app had THREE stands. Each stand had about 10 cycles. I honestly don’t know whether it was about the demand in that area but I honestly think they can be spread better. A little more thought needs to be put on how best to spread out cycle docks in instead of concentrating all of them in one area.
d) Cycle lanes: This has been a colossal failure from the government’s point of view. A few years back, in Jayanagar where I live, cycle paths were marked on many roads. Most of them promptly became parking spots. I don’t know what thought was put into it before spending so much money but the fact of the matter is that without dedicated cycling lanes on all major roads, one will really think twice before using a cycle.
e) Facilities in workplaces: Many people dream of cycling to their place of work. But no one dreams of entering office all hot and sweaty. A workplace that has shower facilities is rare. This means using a cycle as a means of daily transport takes a hit.
A cycle is a great mode of transport. It reduces pollution and makes us fitter. At the same time, for it to go from a recreational habit to being a mode of mainstream transport will take time. This is primarily because of the lag in the available infrastructure for cyclists.
There are two ways of look at this problem:
a) Cycle apps should have worked with the governments to provide better infrastructure before launching and scaling up.
b) The government will wake up to the fact that it has to scale up infrastructure to meet this new demand from cyclists.
While working with the government requires a lot of patience, the cycle sharing apps should do everything that they can to ensure the safety of the cyclists who hire their cycles, even if costs a little extra as India doesn’t have a cycling culture like Amsterdam or London.
Without taking steps to scale up the infrastructure side-by-side, cycle sharing apps will hit an inevitable roadblock in the future.
