Delhi can make cycle-sharing work; heat, air pollution are just excuses

NEW DELHI: From Marrakech in Morocco to Medellín in Colombia, success stories have proved that excuses of extreme summer heat and air pollution don’t wash when it comes to running urban cycling systems. What Delhi is lacking is a political will to implement a public bike-sharing system and a master plan with clearly defined objectives and infrastructure to meet these.

Luca Lo Re and Ivan Delalanza of the World Resources Institute, both researching PBS systems across the world, were in Delhi to discuss their findings at the recently concluded ConnectKaro, WRI’s annual conference. The event was also attended by several bike operators from Bhopal, Mysore, Pune and other cities where both docked and dockless systems are being implemented. What Delhi lacks, according to WRI experts, is a bicycle master plan that can be integrated with its public transport network. Having a PBS on its own just, so that people can ride for leisure, will not be successful. They also observed that Delhi should first lay down what kind of a modal shift it expected from PBS.

First- and last-mile connectivity
Luca cited a research study by King’s College, London, which concluded that people in Delhi should cycle for more than five hours a week for the pollution risks to outweigh health benefits. Short cycling trips will not help. “Cities with hot weather conditions, such as Medellin, Marrakech and Dubai already have bike-sharing systems in place, coupled with other programmes to promote urban cycling. Statistics show that people in these cities generally plan their bike trips early in the morning and in the late afternoons to avoid heat peaks. On the other hand, statistics from cities that have colder and wetter weather patterns, such as Copenhagen (Denmark) and Amsterdam (the Netherlands), have also shown that people cycle even when it’s raining and cold. Provided there’s a safe urban cycling infrastructure, it is just a matter of (good) habits, will and ability to choose the right gears to face the weather conditions,” Luca said.

Development of a bike-sharing system that could connect residential areas with the urban transit system could solve the last-mile connectivity issue in the capital. For Delhi, this could mean placing the bikesharing system stations or the preferred parking areas (for dockless) at the entrance or in proximity of public transit stations (e.g. metro stations). The bike-share system could be designed to allow riders to access and pay both the shared-bike and the urban transit system trips with the same smart card or phone app (seamless integration). “Moreover, to incentivise the use of shared-bikes combined with public transit, some cities also offer discounts on the total combined fare if the incoming (or out-going) trip was made through sharedbikes.” Luca added.

Safe PBS infrastructure
Luca and Ivan feel that the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS), along the BRT corridor, may not have taken off because people were not confident about safety and bicycling infrastructure. “The density of PBS stations may not be enough too. It’s a natural reaction of people to give up if they don’t feel confident about their safety. Long ago, when I started cycling in Milan, I gave up after trying for a few months initially because I felt the system was not safe. It’s safe now,” Luca said. Ivan added that close coordination between private operators and city governments and a wellplanned budget for infrastructure go a long way in ensuring a sustainable PBS. The choice of type of cycling infrastructure strongly depends on the design of each city. “There exist different options of cycling infrastructure that should be customised depending on the characteristics of each street. Parameters that influence the choice of cycling infrastructure are speed limits and actual average speeds, actual design of the streets, and numbers and type of motorised vehicles using that street. Generally, segregated bike lanes are recommended for avenues with high numbers of cars and average speeds of over 60 km/h. In Delhi, this could be the most recommendable option for the mostly trafficked roads. When space is available, off-street trails could also be recommendable,” they said.

However, shared bicycle streets are generally suitable for low traffic volumes with vehicle speeds between 20 and 30 km/h and a maximum of 40 km/h. Bhopal is probably the only city that has coordinated extensively with the operator and implemented many kilometres of bike lanes, which are integrated with the public transit system.

Technology not the only concern
World over, dockless PBS is becoming popular. Here, a rider can pick and drop the bike anywhere in the city using their smart phone. There are about 17 million dockless bikes currently in the world. It’s gaining popularity because bikes can be unlocked through the rider’s phone, the rider doesn’t have to look for a docking station and even the ridership is cheaper than docked systems. It can also produce large data information on riders’ travel patterns. They are also less capital intensive than station-based systems. But dockless systems are also a nuisance — they have been vandalised, dumped and just left on the streets clogging sidewalks. For Delhi, choosing the latest technology shouldn’t be the focus, according to experts. Even Bhopal’s PBS is a docked system. “Choosing the technology is just like buying a mobile phone. You should know your needs first,” added Ivan.

In case of Delhi, dockless could potentially represent an option for first- and last-mile connectivity linking transit hubs and extending their range to reach more residents. Dockless systems could also bring bike-sharing to places where building new stations may be difficult, like the Old Delhi heritage zone. “The deployment of any dockless system in Delhi should be closely coordinated between the local government and dockless providers to develop long-lasting regulations to operate safely, sustainably and civilly,” the researchers added.