World Bicycle Day on June 2: Hyderabad’s cycling community unites to promote active mobility

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad cycling community is gearing up to celebrate World Bicycle Day on June 2 through many activities including a creative art contest at the solar cycling track on ORR.

The cycling community has invited people to gather at the ORR cycling track on June 2 from 6 am to 8 am and participate in the various events as a display of their unity and commitment to adopting healthy ways of commuting.

With spreading awareness about active mobility – the practice of incorporating cycling or walking into every trip as much as possible – as a priority, the cycling community of Hyderabad is planning to connect to all sections of society, urging them to adopt cycling and public transportation into their daily routine.

Public mobility for future generations

To achieve their vision of seeing children commute to schools safely, the cycling community requests the government changes to civil infrastructure across the city:

- Comprehensive network of bicycle lanes

- Well-connected footpaths, crossings and pelican signals

- Improvement and increased investment in public transportation

“One aspect of Hyderabad city which needs visible outcomes is ensuring the safety of pedestrians and cyclists who are especially vulnerable on urban roads,” said Santhana Selvan, also known as ‘Bicycle Mayor’ of Hyderabad.

Education, Enforcement and Empowerment

Talking to NewsMeter about the importance of enforcement of strict traffic laws especially in the light of the Pune Porsche case which resulted in two deaths, Santhana Selvan said, “We have been working on three key aspects since the formation of our group: we are very keen on educating all types of drivers on traffic rules. To achieve this, we have been on a campaigning drive in many areas of Hyderabad educating people about the importance of using public transportation, carpooling and/or cycling and walking while travelling within the city. The most important step is enforcement which requires participation not just from individuals but also from the government, the police, corporates, educational institutions and more.”

Reaching out to 50 lakh Hyderabadis

Santhana also detailed the campaign measures by the cycling community in Hyderabad, named Hyderabad Cycling Revolution or HCR.

“Over the last three years, the cycling community has worked tirelessly to achieve the targets it has set for itself in the public outreach programme. By the end of 2022, through HCR we have managed to reach more than 10 lakh people from all walks of life. By May 2023, that number crossed more than 45 lakhs (target 50 lakhs) through public rallies, meetings and visitations to schools, colleges, parks, malls and companies regarding the importance of active mobility,” said Santhana.

“For 2024, we aim to make people switch to active mobility at least one trip for every 10 trips they take as this will keep the city and its residents healthy together,” said Santhana.