BACK TO BICYCS
Two NIDians plan to turn the humble bicycle into public ka naya transport for Ahmedabad. To begin with, they will launch their free cycle sharing experiment on the campus next week to study response to their idea
SHRADDHA SINGH The neglected, rusted bicycle can become a sustainable and eco-friendly mode of transport for Ahmedabad, a city cluttered with two, three and four wheelers, if plans of two enterprising NIDians go on track. In an attempt to bring back the culture of riding a bicycle in an urban set-up like Ahmedabad, Animesh Shrivastava of Transportation and Automobile Design and Gunveen Kaur of Product Design have initiated the ‘ReDiscover Bicycle’ project. This project is part of their final year Systems Design course. If the initial stage goes smoothly — the 10-day experiment which begins next week has initially been restricted to the campus — the idea can be implemented on a bigger scale, they feel. For the start, the duo have put together a fleet of 15 bicycles which can be used for free by members of the NID community (students and faculty). Cycles lying unclaimed in the design school’s parking lot were repaired. The rest came as donations by volunteers. Shrivastava says, “This is just the beginning of an ambitious project. ReDiscover Bicycle is an initiative to promote cycling culture in Ahmedabad city as a sustainable mode of transportation. We want to introduce and establish this concept as part of an urban life. For the trial run, we have set up an experimental model of ‘bicycle sharing’ system within the NID community.” Tags are being attached to cycles on the campus, requesting owners to lend them for sharing. The ReDiscover team will take care of the fleet’s maintenance. The two students began with an online survey within the NID community to understand the role of a bicycle in lives of the individuals. Said Kaur, “Introducing this concept among the urban and educated crowd of Amdavad will not be an easy task as cycling has ceased being a part of Indian society since the advent of motorised transportation.” Kaur says the notion that cycles are only for children and the poor needs to be changed for, cycling as part of one’s daily activity will be environment friendly, save fuel and remove class division. “There are no disadvantages of riding a bicycle. Besides, it keeps us fit.” The duo next plans to approach the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) which developed the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) concept. “They were the first to introduce introduce dedicated infrastructure to promote cycling in the city by constructing cycle tracks along the BRTS corridor. Sadly, these tracks are hardly used,” says Shrivastava, adding, “We want people from all classes to use this mode of transport.” This team of two hopes to convince citizens to ride bicycles at least for shorter distances.
Two NIDians plan to turn the humble bicycle into public ka naya transport for Ahmedabad. To begin with, they will launch their free cycle sharing experiment on the campus next week to study response to their idea
SHRADDHA SINGH The neglected, rusted bicycle can become a sustainable and eco-friendly mode of transport for Ahmedabad, a city cluttered with two, three and four wheelers, if plans of two enterprising NIDians go on track. In an attempt to bring back the culture of riding a bicycle in an urban set-up like Ahmedabad, Animesh Shrivastava of Transportation and Automobile Design and Gunveen Kaur of Product Design have initiated the ‘ReDiscover Bicycle’ project. This project is part of their final year Systems Design course. If the initial stage goes smoothly — the 10-day experiment which begins next week has initially been restricted to the campus — the idea can be implemented on a bigger scale, they feel. For the start, the duo have put together a fleet of 15 bicycles which can be used for free by members of the NID community (students and faculty). Cycles lying unclaimed in the design school’s parking lot were repaired. The rest came as donations by volunteers. Shrivastava says, “This is just the beginning of an ambitious project. ReDiscover Bicycle is an initiative to promote cycling culture in Ahmedabad city as a sustainable mode of transportation. We want to introduce and establish this concept as part of an urban life. For the trial run, we have set up an experimental model of ‘bicycle sharing’ system within the NID community.” Tags are being attached to cycles on the campus, requesting owners to lend them for sharing. The ReDiscover team will take care of the fleet’s maintenance. The two students began with an online survey within the NID community to understand the role of a bicycle in lives of the individuals. Said Kaur, “Introducing this concept among the urban and educated crowd of Amdavad will not be an easy task as cycling has ceased being a part of Indian society since the advent of motorised transportation.” Kaur says the notion that cycles are only for children and the poor needs to be changed for, cycling as part of one’s daily activity will be environment friendly, save fuel and remove class division. “There are no disadvantages of riding a bicycle. Besides, it keeps us fit.” The duo next plans to approach the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) which developed the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) concept. “They were the first to introduce introduce dedicated infrastructure to promote cycling in the city by constructing cycle tracks along the BRTS corridor. Sadly, these tracks are hardly used,” says Shrivastava, adding, “We want people from all classes to use this mode of transport.” This team of two hopes to convince citizens to ride bicycles at least for shorter distances.
I'm trying to start a cycling club of sorts in Ahmedabad and I'd like to talk to you guys about it. If we join our efforts, it would work out better because we all know its not something easy to pull off. its impressive what you have already achieved!
ReplyDeletePlease drop me a line at shweta.kasana@gmail.com and we can take it from there.
Thanks,
Shweta