There has been a reluctance to introduce bicycles in Mumbai: MMRDA commissioner – Hindustan Times

Hinting at bureaucratic hurdles, metropolitan commissioner RA Rajeev on Saturday said that there has been a lot of reluctance towards introducing cycles in Mumbai. Rajeev said this at an event to inaugurate a public bike-sharing system at the Versova Metro station.

“There has been a reluctance to introduce bicycles in Mumbai by saying that the roads are congested. There are, however, two aspects to it. We have to introduce more of these facilities and people should also start cycling more. This will create a revolution and also decongest the roads,” Rajeev said.

He further said that when there are more cyclists on road, city planners will be forced to create space for them. “Create the demand and city will give you space,” he said.

On Saturday, the commissioner inaugurated public bike-sharing service from Versova metro station. The service, which started at Jagruti Nagar Metro station in 2019, will further be extended to DN Nagar and Azad Nagar metro stations in another 10 days, officials said. Commuters can rent a bike for ₹2/hour or get weekly and monthly passes for ₹280 and ₹900 respectively. The bikes can be taken home and parked at the Metro stations.

MyByk (which runs the services) was part of a mobility challenge launched by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd. and World Resources Institute (WRI) in 2019.

Madhav Pai, director, WRI India on Saturday said, “With 337 km of Metro network in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, last-mile connectivity will be a major challenge. Commuters need to be provided with a lot of options, of which, cycling will prove to be the most attractive option.”