Fun Sustainable Transport
Cycling in Central Park - New York City
a shot of a biker in Central Park, New York city – shot by Harsha
Over the last year or so we have seen, met and spoken to hundreds of bikers. Bikers from Bangalore, outside Bangalore and outside the country too. We have been writing about biking, dealing with bikes and trying to push biking in Bangalore City. And I thought things were good.
Until I experienced biking in New York.
Wow. Central Park is a sight to behold. There are hundreds (Im not kidding) of bikers, on really good bikes, with really good equipment – all racing. These are normal day to day people, who go for their day jobs, but don their biking apparel in the evening and bike out ! I just cannot imagine this scene in India. Anytime soon at least.
There are lot more battles to be fought- Cheap bikes wont get you there. People need to be educated.
- Easy Access to good stuff – bikes, equipment, people, trainers etc etc
- Events to spur such investments
- Overall awareness about fitness.
- More brands to enter the Indian market and increase competition
- A common misconception that cycling is dangerous in India because of lack of cycling lanes and crazy traffic. The traffic in New York is equally crazy and I dont see too many cycling lanes here too.
- A Trek here costs pretty much what it would cost back home.
Some more time. And we should get there.
some more pics (not great. Promise to get better ones soon)
7 comments
Comments
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Simply untrue to say that biking in NYC is similar to biking in any big city in India. While NYC may be crowded, the big difference is that motorists by and large follow traffic rules, and cops are ready to enforce the laws. Bikers only have to make do with congestion, not ride in fear of their lives. Want to compare biker deaths and injuries in NYC with a similar sized city in India? I would then urge you to go to smaller towns around NY State and see for yourself how easy it is to take your bike out and travel to work. You are not getting the full picture of biking in the US by only observing bikers in Central Park. I noticed in all your pics from NYC there are lots of bikers and no cars. Can you imagine closing down roads on a regular basis for bikers in an Indian city? And finally I disagree with you on cheap bikes. If you want more people to get into biking you have to make bikes affordable. The vast majority of Indians who would think of biking are simply not interested in spending huge bucks on a Trek. They need a basic locally made bike that is dependable and cheap. India is a long way away yet from becoming a biking nation. But the correct way to promote this is by making it affordable and accessible to the common man, not to the high end user.
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Deepak - glad you brought up all these points.
The snaps were all in Central Park - hence the lack of vehicles. On the roads the vehicles are there and bikers among the drivers. I have used a bicycle to get to work over the last 3 years and not have had a single accident ! I ride in the morning in Peak traffic and at nite after dark. And never have had an accident !
NY traffic is organized better than Bangalore, but if you are careful its really not that bad in Bangalore. We have interacted with loads of bikers and all say the same - its safe. Its good to bike in the city. But you are right, about folks following rules.
About smaller towns - you can do the same around Bangalore too. Just that the grass always looks greener I guess.
About cheaper bikes - I totally disagree. I think thats the main reason why kids give up riding cause we were all stuck with some crappy bikes which always needed to be taken to the bike shop to fix up. Im not saying the bikes should be beastly expensive. But there is a minimum cost below which its not possible to make a decent bike. (What a decent bike offers is up for debate though and I guess its personal). There are cheap bikes available. How come its only folks who really need it for commute and cannot afford motorized transport who use these ? India has tons of cheap bikes. Im not pushing Trek or any other brand here. Its more of a good bike. -
Rohan, you are ignoring the fact that there are far more people in India who already bike or take public transport to work, than in the US. these people do it out of necessity. I think you are focusing on a much smaller segment of the population and think that they can be made to bike to work as well. This is not going to work as long as they perceive that it is a dangerous journey by bike. You will get some to convert, mostly young people, but not many. And in time they too may quit as they get older and decide its not worth the risk. For these folks its not so much the quality of the bike thats an issue its a safety and convenience issue. And that will not change until you can show them that Indian roads are safe to bike on. Which they are not. As for kids bikes, again I disagree that the issue is a cheap bike that keeps them from continuing to ride. As I look around my neighborhood in the US most kids ride on crappy bikes and most adults who ride for pleasure or to work, dont have high end bikes either. They are largely Chinese made and are heavy and clunky and break down often. And thats why I said dont focus too much on NYC. The rest of the country rides for fun and they ride low key. Its only those interested in racing and fitness that will spend the time and money acquiring a more expensive bike.
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yup. Your right. I did agree that there are quite a few folks who already bike to work in India out of necessity. Im definitely not talking for these folks.
This post was not about convincing folks to take a Trek 6000 to work ! It was more about the general awareness about cycling here compared to India. More from the angle of a sport I guess. Rather than a daily commute. But I do agree that the commute segment in India is gonna remain small, and you got the reason head on ! Lets see if we can do something about it :)
These comments are interesting. I as a kid gave up riding cause the bike was too much of a pain to maintain. And riding it was hard. But I might be wrong about this. Lemme post on the BikeGroup and see what others think about this.
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Focusing specifically on the "cheap and dependable" issue, we are conditioned to expect cycles to be very very cheap. But there's a price below which you can't have something dependable. Dependable involves spending a little bit of money, and here's where a perception needs to change. People stretch to buy motorised transport, and accept this to be normal. They take loans, they save and so on. People don't expect to stretch to buy a cycle, and then end up with something that's more trouble than it's worth. My guess (not wild, but not informed either) is that many people who have broken their backs to buy a scooter or 100cc motorcycle, MIGHT have been happier on a good cycle that's less than half the cost (but still expensive), if only cycles were regarded differently. To that end, Rohan is not just catering to the rich. Once people start to understand what a "good" cycle is, they may start to spend more on cycles, and not regard them as nightmare poor-man transport. Why shouldn't Raju the postman buy a Trek for Rs.15,000 instead of a Hero Honda for Rs.40,000? He's spending less money, and he's getting around just as quickly, if not faster.
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Actually, I think I know the answer. No matter how much perception changes, finally a motorcycle can be used to transport the entire family, as well as stuff like LPG cylinders and televisions. But when Raju is saving thousands on petrol, he can afford an autorickshaw now and then... no short answer here.
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Minkey - my point exactly ! Its all a matter of perception.
