Parents with pedal power

Reducing chaos

Bengalureans are trying to find their own ingenious shortcuts to beat the increasing traffic in the City. Interestingly, some parents have opted to drop their children to school by cycle. They say cycling is not only a way to keep fit but is also an attempt to inculcate the lessons of energy conservation in their wards.

 The sight of just one person in a car, in and around schools, prompted Prabhakar Rao to give up driving and drop his children to school by  cycle. “If everybody wants to travel only by their cars and don’t think about the larger picture of conserving the environment, there would be no hope whatsoever. This is also one of the reasons, I thought I would make a beginning from my end,” shares Prabhakar.     

He has also remodelled his cycle in such a way that travelling becomes comfortable. Prabhakar drops both his children — nine-year old daughter Pranalini, a student of class four at RMS International School Kanakapura Road, and three-and-half-year-old son Pranav, in nursery with Kidzee Millennium, JP Nagar 7th Phase, located three kilometers away from his house by cycle.

    “I have customised my cycle by attaching one small front seat for my younger son and a rear bigger seat on the rear carrier for my daughter. I have also fixed one bigger carrier in the front which helps me carry my kid’s school bags,” he states. 

The never-ending line of cars in front of every school and the snarls they cause prompted Shaleen Tongia, an employee of Indecomm Global Services, to  use his cycle to drop his son Yatharth Tongia, a student of class four at his Vibgyor High, Haralur Road. Shaleen says with increasing traffic around school, it has become impossible to bring a two-wheeler or a four-wheeler to school. Ironically, Shaleen  had consciously selected the school close to where he lives so that the travel time is lesser. Cycling, though, has become more than a need-based choice. “I also wanted to inculcate in our son the benefits of using a cycle. I also realised that we ended up talking on a variety of issues and bonded much better. He has practically seen and experienced how cycling cuts down on fuel consumption and this is a lesson that will stay for life,” Shaleen explains.    
 
Cyclists always manage to attract an extra amount of attention and get admiring looks from fellow commuters. Bijoy VP, a senior adviser with Dell International Services, in Domlur drops his four-year-old son Darshith VP, to school on his cycle because he wants to be the change he wants to see. “I’ve noticed that cars and two wheelers who head on the same route take more than 30 minutes and I take less than 20 minutes when on a cycle. I also got a bicycle steppy (kid’s carrier), especially fixed, for my son at the rear of the cycle, just to ensure that we travel comfortably,” explains Bijoy.

He also feels the increasing traffic has made reaching one’s destination a major challenge and he found cycling the quickest way to travel. “It’s also an eco-friendly mode of travel and I’ve noticed that a lot of people stop and ask me how I got the cycle and whether it is easy to commute through traffic. I hope this initiative inspires a lot of parents to hit the peddle,” he adds.

Rajashekaran C, an employee with a multinational company, decided to drop his children to school by the cycle after they had to change a couple of school vans. He says that his cycling skills came to good use when he decided to hit the peddle two years ago. His son Pranav studies in Vidya Niketan and daughter Shruti is also a student of the same school. The couple live near Hebbal and Rajashekaran says that he barely takes 20 minutes to drop his children to school. “Dropping them by the cycle not only saves my time and saves fuel but it makes the children feel less tired and stressed. We don’t have to depend on other means of transport like the private vans who aren’t always on time,” he states.  

This group has dared to be the change that they want to see around them. May their tribe increase.