Here two-wheelers invade a footpath. All photos by Sudhir Gota, SECON Pvt Ltd.

Krishnappa is a security guard for a multinational software firm in Bangalore who, for the past thirty years, has walked and cycled to work. For Krishnappa, the trip, which often took around 15 to 30 minutes, was one of life’s small pleasures as he made his way along Bangalore’s tree-shaded streets, often meeting friends and acquaintances, discussing politics and family matters, before continuing on his way. However, in recent years he has been unable to walk or cycle to work. And it’s not because of age or injury.

When asked about his transport woes, he blames the government. The increase in land prices, lack of cycle tracks, footpaths, poor public transportation, and the risk of being struck by a motorized vehicle have forced him to drive to work. He now spends nearly 30% of his salary on his monthly commute.

Krishnappa is not alone. Rapidly growing Bangalore city has generated a new human species aptly named “Transport Challenged People.” The common trait of these people is that they are forced to become captive to a mode of transport just because they don’t have an accessible alternative. Their other characteristic is that they pay a price for traveling that they do not consider fair or just, but because they have no other option, they continue to pay it.

Bangalore has seen a spiral of economic activity and urban growth, with the developed area of the city increasing from roughly 175 square kilometers in 1971 to more than 560 in 2006. The government, in order to decongest the city center, restricted the Floor- Space-Index (FSI) – that’s a technical term for building density - in the core and liberated the FSI along the outer peripheries. The restriction in FSI in the city core caused land value here to skyrocket, driving out the lower class to the more affordable peripheries. (There’s a photo essay after the jump)

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CNN has started a series of articles and videos called Eco-Solutions about, well, eco-solutions to the world’s, err, eco-problems. This week’s video features Mayor Marcelo Ebrard of Mexico City and his efforts to transform this bustling capital city infamous for its traffic and smog into a healthy, more livable city. One of the things he has done, which this video highlights, is shut down Paseo de la Reforma, the city’s most important artery (think 5th Avenue in New York City), on Sunday’s to traffic so that children and families can enjoy the tree-lined avenues while strolling or riding their bikes. It’s a remarkable acheivement, given what Reforma looks like on weekdays:

The video also highlights Metrobus, a bus rapid transit line, which has significantly reduced the amount of travel time for its passengers and has cleaned the air in the city. Although the first line was built under the previous Mayor, Manuel Obradar, Marcelo Ebrard plans to extend it to 10 lines, and has already broken ground on two of these. Read the rest of this entry »

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I’m happy to see such a high level of sophistication in recent public services announcements on sustainable transportation issues. First we had Lolo, the planet saving Donkey that takes public transportation and now we have this very clever awareness test from Transport for London. Not only does this ad make the point in a very sticky way but they gave it the means to “go viral” by including links for viewers to spread it to their social network of choice.

Do The Test here -> http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

Pass it on!

Thanks to Eric Gilliland of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association who gave us the tip by passing this through his social networks.

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Photo by padawan.

Dubai: Air quality declines as number of cars rises [Business 24-7]

China: Car owners to be compensated for driving ban during Olympics [Gaurdian]

China: Marathon record holder wont run in China because of pollution [Daily Mail]

United States: Americans learn bikes cut costs and improve fitness [Reuters]

General: Plug-in cars could increase pollution [Detroit Free Press]

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China’s Green Beat, is a neat bilingual blog I stumbled upon the other day, written by John Romankiewicz, an American Fulbright scholar currently living in Beijing, and Zhao Xiangyu, a Chinese citizen from Heilongjiang, a province in the northern part of the country. Check out the above video for a comical take on serious challenge: motorization in the Chinese capital.

Read more about Beijing’s metro, BRT system, Olympic bid, and weather problems.

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He’s cute, he’s adventurous, he’s reliable, and he’s closeted. What more could one ask of a folding bike?

My latest love interest is the Dahon Speed 7. I’d been eying him in the bike store for quite a while, examining his features, and comparing him with his strong-framed brothers. Finally, in the beginning of February I decided he was the one for me.

The Dahon - or “Speedy”, as I’ve come to call him - is the latest stage in the shift I’ve been making away from private ownership of a motorized vehicle. Now I look at the Vespa I bought two years ago as a way station on that path, and I’m planning to sell it once spring arrives in full bloom.

Last September I had to give up running because of foot problems. I was accustomed to getting around the city on foot, Metro, and bus, so originally I thought the folding bike would be mainly for recreation or workouts. But in the three-plus weeks I’ve had Speedy, I’ve used him a lot more than I’d expected for errands, and for getting to business meetings and dinner engagements. This February has been a relatively mild winter month by Washington DC standards, and Speedy has given me the freedom of the city in a way that I really hadn’t expected. Read the rest of this entry »

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Photo by Murat Suyabatmaz.

Biking in cities doesn’t have to be hazardous to your health. But in Istanbul, you must be extra careful. Besides traffic and air pollution – the usually problems faced by urban cyclists – Istanbul riders have to deal with flooded cycle paths, barbecues, trees, bushes, and garbage bins in cycle areas, and lack of bicycle parking.

But even with these problems there’s still reason to be excited about biking in Istanbul. Recently, Gizem Altin, a Turkish cycling advocate, organized Istanbul’s first ever symposium on urban cycling. In attendance was a representative from the city government who announced that Istanbul could have 101 km of dedicated bike lanes right away without any major structural changes, if the mayor were to give his support. The city official also talked about the city’s master plan for building 670 km of bike lanes. But alas, there is no time frame for such a project, an indication that it might never be implemented.

In the meantime, cycling in Istanbul continues to be an extreme sport. After the leap, check out the photo essay on biking in Istanbul by Murat Suyabatmaz, a Turkish cycling advocate who also attended the bike symposium. Read the rest of this entry »

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Bike docking stations in Paris. Photo by dangiles73.

Last week, Ken Livingston, the Mayor of London, announced an ambitious plan to transform the British capital into a pedestrian and cycling city, an effort that he expects will reduce London’s carbon footprint by approximately 1.6 million tones.

Following the lead of Paris, his plan calls for an extensive network of bike docking stations located every 300 meters throughout the city, allowing Londoners to quickly pick up a bicycle, ride it to their destination and leave it at the nearest docking station for someone else to ride.

The city will also create road infrastructure for cyclists, building 12 “radial cycling corridors” on existing roadways to protect cyclists from traffic. Read the rest of this entry »

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An unusual calm on Bogota’s streets. Photo by Pattoncito from Flickr.

On Thursday, February 7 Bogotá held its 8th annual car-free day during which 14% of the population left their private cars at home and walked, cycled, and took mass transit to get around Colombia’s capital city. The car-free day is a bold effort to give people the chance of experiencing how nice the city could be without the 1.2 million private vehicles that ply Bogota’s streets every day. Following Bogota’s lead the car-free movement is spreading throughout the world, but still, this Andean city is the only one of its size that actually enforces its efforts, slapping $118 fines on any vehicle breaking the ban.

The Colombian newspaper EL TIEMPO reported a 45% reduction in carbon monoxide, an improvement attribute to the absence of private cars. This reduction, while important, was overshadowed by a 42% increase in particulate matter. Particulate matter is inorganic particles caused by diesel engines, brake and tire friction, wood burning factories using heavy fuels and coal, and forms indirectly in the air from SOx and NOX. Particulate matter has serious effects on the human respiratory system, and is especially harmful to children, the elderly and people with breathing problems. It is also one of the leading causes of bronchitis and asthma. At typical concentrations, particulate matter has approximately the same impact on human health as carbon monoxide. However, per equal mass emitted, it has between a 10 times (if its from brakes and tire friction) and 1000 times (if its from diesel engines and SOx) greater impact on human health than carbon monoxide.

For Bogotá, the really important question is whether the particulate matter which increased during car-free day was from brakes and tires or from diesel engines. If it was from breaks and tires then it will be removed quickly from the atmosphere, and we could argue unequivocally that car-free day improved human health. However, if it’s from diesel engines and Sox - as it is believed to be in the case of Bogota - then the increase in particulate matter may have outweighed the benefits from reduced levels of carbon monoxide. Read the rest of this entry »

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Here’s a neat picture from Adrien Rovero, that nicely compares the amount of urban space needed for a bike compared with that needed for a car. Photo from INOUT DESIGNERS.

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