The aim of this survey
was tounderstand the challenges faced by the livelihood cyclists and their
travel patterns, the important motivators for use of cycling as mode of
transport
Bengaluru, Sept 30, 2021:
Bangalore Political
Action Committee (B.PAC) in
collaboration with the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), today,
released a report on Livelihood Cyclists Survey. The report highlighted the needs and requirements of the cyclist while he/she
is riding the cycle across the city, to understand their concerns regarding
traffic on the roads, parking facility and other infrastructure.
Cycling is one of the most
sustainable modes of transport with zero dependence on fossil fuels, zero
emissions making it an affordable transport option. Bicycles have always played
an important role in the informal sector, especially in supporting the
livelihood and mobility among urban poor. It is an easy transport option and
allows people to carry out their business with low expense outlay making it
accessible to people who work for security agencies, household service
providers, delivery companies, vendors and individuals like factory workers,
sweepers, newspaper distributors, petty shops service boys and others. Bicycles
can play a significant supportive role in providing better and equitable access
to jobs and economic activity, providing livelihoods, increasing school
enrollments, gender empowerment and enabling a faster access to health
facilities.
There is a huge technology
gap across all product segments, making cycles manufactured in India,
uncompetitive in terms of price, safety and quality. Also, there’s a
perception that cycling is unsafe and is a poor man’s mode of transport, which
is also one of the reasons why cycling is not a preferred mode of transport as
incomes rise. Bengaluru is no exception to this trend.
Cities are complex economic machines which depend on various strata of
workers to keep it running. Out of these, a major portion of this system is
supported by the lower-income groups who depend on cycle/walk to commute daily
for work. As a result, ensuring that the streets are safer to minimise their
burden from potential medical expenses or loss of life while commuting is a
matter of utmost importance to the city.
The survey had 604 respondents who were chosen at
random from each of the 8 zones across the city of Bengaluru. The survey was
conducted with the help of a questionnaire, which was designed by B.PAC in
collaboration with DULT. The survey questionnaire includes basic information on
the livelihood cyclists, their travel pattern, challenges and encouraging
factors for cycling.
The respondents for the survey were from the
low-income group. The sample target was broadly categorized into two groups-
Ø 1.Livelihood
cyclists
Ø 2.
Non-Bicycle user (likely to use for livelihood)
Below are key highlights from the survey:
Ø Livelihood
Cyclists
1. Concentration of livelihood cyclists
Livelihood cyclist respondents were majorly found in Bommanahalli, Bengaluru
South, Bengaluru West and Mahadevapura Zones of Bengaluru.
2. Using cycle as primary mode of transport
Over 96% respondents used bicycles as a primary mode of transport. 73% use
bicycles for the entire commute and only 27% use it as the first and last mile
mode of commuting.
3. Monthly income
v/s the total cost per month for all modes of transport
92% of the respondents whose monthly income is less
than Rs 5000 spend upto Rs 500 per month for all modes of transport
combined.75% of the respondents with monthly income Rs 5000 to Rs 10000 spend
upto Rs 500. whereas only 65% respondents with monthly income more than Rs
10,000 spend upto Rs 500.
4. Ownership of cycle
Nearly 94% of respondents owned cycles while 6% hired it on a rental
basis for commuting to their workplaces.
5. Frequency of cycle usage for
transportation
96% of the respondents used their cycles daily to commute. The frequency of
cycle usage for daily commuting was highest among unskilled workers at 100% and
lowest among skilled workers 93%.
6. Reasons for using cycle for
transportation
84% of the respondents cited “saving money” as one of the main reasons
for using cycles while less than 26% cycled to work for its health benefits.
7. Distance of residence from primary
job location
Around 72% respondents had to travel for less than 4 Km by cycle from their
residence to their primary job locations.
8. Distance
covered for Sales and Marketing/ Delivery (SMD) jobs
95% of the respondents with SMD jobs travelled within
8 Kms everyday (0 to 4 Kms -73% and 4 to 8Kms - 22%) while around 5% had to
travel more than 8 Kms by cycle.
9. Challenges
faced while cycling
62.13 % of the respondents cited absence of proper
infrastructure and dedicated cycling lanes as the major concern while 13%
feel upset at the unruly behaviour of other drivers. Other worries included
probability of theft of their cycles (19%) and bad weather (32%).
10. Unsafe
locations for livelihood cyclists
The most unsafe locations cited by livelihood cyclist
respondents are Hoodi circle, ITPL Main Road, Kundalahalli Junction,
Bellandur Signal and Sarjapur Main Road which are congested and witness
dense traffic.
11. Willingness to use cycle for
transportation
A whopping majority of the respondents (97%) were willing to use cycles as
their primary mode of transport everyday if it were made safe and convenient.
12. Encouraging factors for using cycle
Better
streetlights, dedicated cycle lanes and parking emerged as the top three
factors that would encourage them to use cycling as their primary mode of
transport.
79.28% of the
respondents cited better streetlights as extremely important/very important.
45% felt dedicated cycle lanes were extremely important/very important. 25.06%
felt the need for exclusive cycle parking spaces in markets and offices.
Ø Non-Bicycle
user (likely to use for livelihood)
1. Modes of
transport use for daily commute
70% of the non-bicycle users rely on BMTC buses for
their daily commute whereas only 1% rely on the metro.
2. Reasons for
not cycling
There were slight differences in the concerns
expressed by women regarding cycling as compared to men. When women non
cyclists were asked the reason for not cycling, about 71% opined that they feel
unsafe while cycling in traffic with motorists whereas in case of men, 73%
cited lack of infrastructure as the reason for not cycling.
3. Encouraging
factors to shift towards using cycle
Non cyclist respondents also had similar reasons as
encouraging factors for cycling - namely better street lighting and parking.
·
70%
said better street lighting was extremely important/ very important
·
48%
cited designated cycle lanes as extremely important/ very important
·
26%
of them felt exclusive cycle parking spaces in markets and offices as extremely
important/very important
Key
Recommendations
- Budgetary allocation for making streets
safer for cycling
- Better street lighting, safer junction
crossing, better enforcement of lane discipline and designated parking
areas for bicycles are encouraging factors to shift from motorized
transport to cycling.
- Budgetary allocation for
communication that educates citizens on health and environment
benefits of cycling
- Changing the narrative from cycling
perceived as a “poor person’s commute mode” to an “aspirational mode of
commute”
- Special schemes to encourage women to
cycle
- Special schemes for affordable ownership
of bicycle
The report release was
followed by a panel discussion wherein the panalists brainstormed on probable
solutions from insights of the report.
While speaking on the release of survey findingsMs.
Revathy Ashok, Managing Trustee & CEO, B.PAC said “ This section of
society, namely the livelihood cyclists
spend almost 10% of their income on commuting, hence good incentive
schemes coupled with a good communication strategy, focus on safety, good street
lighting, better design of major junction crossings and enforcement of lane
discipline must support any infrastructure development for cycling to be
successful”.
Commenting on the report
release V. Manjula,IAS, Commissioner, DULTsaid “ We need more carriage
way for cycles than motor vehicles. Need of prioritising cycles over motor
vehicles and also added cycling training for women is something DULT is looking
for and along with govt. seva sindhu portal which is now open to encourage
public bike sharing agencies”.
Prof. Ashish
Verma from IISC said “ Integration of public transport for longer distance will add more
cyclists on road by adding parking near stations and provision of some cycles
in coaches.
SudeeptMaiti from
WRI recalled a study done in 2018 which
compares male and female cyclists said, women cyclists experience 4times more
than men of unruly behavior of other motorists.
Sharing his views Sathya
Sankaran, Bicycle mayor, Bengaluru said they are looking forward for active
mobility act by DULT which enables my 15min city and also added businesses in
Bengaluru could sponsor the cycles for employees as a bonus which would
encourage more cyclists on road.
Click here to access to the
Livelihood Cyclist Survey -
https://bpac.in/b-mobile/livelihood-cyclists-survey/
ABOUT B.PAC
Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) is a non-partisan citizen's group that aims to
improve governance in Bengaluru and to enhance the quality of life of every
citizen. B.PAC is specifically targeting good governance practices, integrity
and transparency in all arms of the government, improving the quality of
infrastructure in the city, identification and support of strong candidates for
public office at all levels of governance in Bengaluru city.
B.MOBILE is B.PAC’s mobility initiative that works on
research, policy advocacy, stakeholder awareness in the areas of sustainable
mobility, shared/pooled mobility, non-motorised transit, para transit including
related planning and infrastructure needs for providing seamless and integrated
first, middle and last mile connectivity to citizens of Bengaluru.Ourgoal is
to push for sustainable mobility for all by encouraging the use of public
transport anddisincentivizing the private vehicles usage. (
https://bpac.in/b-mobile/)
Contact:
Sachiin A T @ sachiin@bpac.in | +91-
7349542201
Sharath @ Sharath@bpac.in |
+91-9886196640
Pooja Patel @ pooja@bpac.in |
+91-8660472779
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