Experts urged for non-motorised transport in Pune

A pan-India mix of journalists, activists and transportation experts criticised the overtly skewed, car-centric policy of the government and demanded a rightful place for non-motorised transport (NMT).

The professionals were speaking at a national media workshop on NMT held on Friday at the Yashwantrao Chavan Academy for Development Administration (Yashada) organised by Delhi-based NGO, CMS Environment.

Christopher Kost, NMT expert from Ahmedabad-based Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), said that India had a wonderful opportunity to scale up the NMT movement as the use of cycles is very high in smaller cities of the country.

However, he said that there is a lack of political will in designing, constructing and maintaining cycle tracks and allied infrastructure.

Citing a few good examples across the world, Kost said Bogota in Colombia had constructed 300 km of cycling tracks in early 2000, which had increased the number of cyclists in that city from 0.6% to 4%.

Similarly New York City, a late entrant on the cycling scene, had constructed 320 km of new cycling tracks during 2006-09, doubling the number of cyclists in the last eight years.

Director of institutional relations at the Centre for Sustainable Transport (CST), Rishi Aggarwal, blamed the slow progress of the NMT movement in India to a ‘mind block’ among politicians and government authorities in the country. “In India, despite walking being the largest mode of transport, it continues to be neglected.”

City-based NMT activist, Sujit Patwardhan quoted Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) statistics which stated that 77% of Puneites used non-motorised and public transport in the city.

He rued the fact that despite such a high percentage of NMT users, corporators had not pushed for more effective NMT infrastructure in Pune.

Anvita Arora, director and CEO of Delhi-based Innovative Transport Solutions, said India needed to urgently look at cycling because cycles emitted zero carbon, transported you from door-to-door, had easy accessibility and reduced traffic congestion.

“The government must create infrastructure which will make cycling safe and practical,” she said.

Veteran Mumbai-based journalist, Vidyadhar Date, rued the fact that politicians and bureaucrats were completely anti-pedestrian in a city like Mumbai.

To drive his point home, he cited the absence of a footpath from the governor’s bungalow to the chief minister’s bungalow in Malabar Hill area of Mumbai.