| FUTURE 2030 |A Non Motorized Vehicle Transport :"Bicycle"...|..can we compare....!!!

"India is on move". The first line of the Mc-kensy report 2011 according to which the urbanization is growing at a rapid pace.According to the mckinsey report ,India's urban population grew from 290 million reported in 2001  census to 340 million in 2008  and is expected to  reach 590 million by 2030. Hence it took India 40  years to  reach   230 million urban population and would now just be the half time to  reach  another 250 million.Well here I  am not talking about how just this urbanisation trends have come up. (figure)

India's growing urbanization 
When we read the report there are further implication of this rapid urbanization.The needs to suffice this urban population would be enormous. according to the report 270 million working population would net increase, & 70 percent of new employment would be new generated in cities.The middle class which is now 22 million would be 91 million .There would be 68  cities with a population of million plus .To suffice to this increased urban population around 2.5 billion sq meters of road will have to  be paved and 7400 kms of metros and subways will have to  be laid.


Now the digits and the numbers are quite clear ,depicting the concentration of the activities in the future cities. The extreme city prone importance is infact now proven The Mckinsey report tell us the future is not bout going for a combined village and city but a city pro development rather.The economic centres would be the cities.When we consider the present condition yet of the infrastructural facilites of the cities, we lag far behind to  meeting even  the basic requirements and the ideal conditions are still ideal to be met...when the agencies are mere idle than ideal.

Well it has been mentioned for the growing importance of cities in regional context all over India,the question is how would we meet the requirements when resources are depleting at such a fast scale .The laying of 7400 kms of metro  and subways would defnnitely be part of sloutions to the rising middle calss and emplyoment opportunities to them.As we know growing of the urban area leads us to the vicious cycle again.(well this vicious cycle...i would write about it later ...). The cycle of population rise ,urban sprawl , segregated economic activities,transport and money,lesser fuel resources, urban poverty unable to access..mass transit...again fuel consumption..less infrastrucutre........again....again...well...Many trends are rising to be beneffited by comrbined mobility plans and city development plans. Urban energy plans are also coming our way.

I have been reading about the use of NON MOTORIZED TRANSPORT in this direction.We certainly have been provided with some best examples in world of the cycling paths of Bogota(Colombia), the excellent Delft (Netherlands) systems, Curitiba .The benefits of using the Non motorized vehicles is obviously undeniable. These  are the solutions to the current issues : global GHG rise , climatic change and solution to major concentration of transport congestion , road problems etc.But to follow examples...and the reports is this the mere way of looking at things.After having considered local issues  the importance to  the mas transit has been identified in India.We have ourselves some very  good examples of BRTS in Ahmedabad, Delhi BRTS and various new upcoming projects have been encouraged by the GOI.


The focus on the combined mass transit systems and non  motorized transport by the planners is complementary and has been focused all over.But when I see the 'case studies 'of Bogota,or either the cycling city of Bristol what occurs to  me is the societal conditions of those cities.Using as well as enjoying and implementing NMV especially the case of bicycle is two different things.The goals to meet the reduced carbon  emission , lowering the GHG emissions by India etc would involve a lot of different practices than that currently followed in India as mere followers of the big 'CASES' in front of us. The use of bicycle at a massive scale has to  involve a generated interest by all the classes of the community and all age groups above gender issue.The overall effect at a mass scale would occur only when the use would be at a scale comparable to the motorized vehicles.In the case of Bogota, it has been declared as safe city for women and girls.The gender inclusion in the mass use of bicycle is most important. The number of trips by a housewife is more ,to  shorter distances for general household purposes. or for similarly many other such cases.But I am hard to  imagine this very feasible in Indian context.



There is a strong bias against women in the use of bicycles. This is indicated by figures in Accra (99%), Lima (84, 6%), Leon (90%) and New Delhi (100% men). In Tamale (Ghana), Guangzhou, Vietnam such a bias is not in existence. Findings indicate the social or moral fabric or construction of society in which a woman should stay at home or should not go around in such an inelegant way. More realistically the reason might be household decision, lack of money to buy additional bicycle, insecurity in certain areas, and the design of available bicycles which are unsuitable for female dresses as in case of India. But here one more issue even if we consider the modern female riding would have no problem with  gower pace of walk to  or cycle to  work conditions, it is the social security  and crime conditions in growing cities.
"Can i  imagine myself travelling by cycle all the way to my home in Delhi if I get a bit late.   ups certainly not."


Hence the issues are many , urbanization is growing; we percieve many issues. The number of employment would be increasing and the economic dependency to the mass transit would also be a major share. But instead of just following the best practices around the world we have to  look for certainly different solutions. Share of NMV not just in terms of the cycle as to create a cycle friendly society to women.is still i  see a long way. Social development might take several years. But rapid transport issues can be rather solved by incusion of subsitues to bicycle that go with Indian contexts, and above gender biased-ness.


As was the case in Vietnam and China, campaigns in the sixties and seventies to promote the use of bicycles by both men and women as part of people’s ideological and economic liberation contributed vastly to the unbiased use. This implies that the present bias should not be taken for granted by policy makers.The benefit that have come from use of bicycles in other countries have actually been result of mass usage and social inclusion .It would be soooo nice to see such in India ..but we have to pave our own way first.Just implementing schemes and sanctioning crores of rupees wont provide solution.


huh :) ltz c. :)



Comments

  1. Hey Thanks..I got stuck somewhere. Working on the revitalizing the blog part and back to writing !

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