Pedalling towards that last mile

Bengaluru: In an effort to promote the adoption of bicycles for first-and last-mile connectivity, various organisations conducted the #Personal2PublicViaCycle campaign at the Yelachenahalli metro station on Sunday.

The Council for Active Mobility (CFAM) spearheaded the campaign, collaborating with the World Resources Institute (WRI), B.PAC, and the Bangalore Apartment Federation (BAF) to encourage commuters to fully utilise the bicycle parking facilities established outside 11 metro stations and nine TTMCs by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT).

The 11 metro stations include Nagasandra, Peenya, Mahalakshmi, Mahakavi Kuvempu Road, Rajajinagar, Yelachenahalli, Konanakunte Cross, Jayanagar, Indiranagar, and Baiyappanahalli (on the Old Madras Road and NGEF exits).

Additionally, the nine TTMCs are situated at Yeshwantpur, Vijayanagar, Kengeri, Shanthinagar, Whitefield, Domlur, Jayanagar, Banashankari, and Bannerghatta.

Participants rode their bicycles from their homes within a five-km radius of the Yelachenahalli metro station, utilising the climate action platform 'AltMo' to monitor their rides and quantify the positive impact of sustainable transport choices.

The routes taken by participants were incorporated into the SMN (Sustainable Mobility Network) map project, contributing to the development of a comprehensive resource on safe cycling routes for first- and last-mile connectivity.

Srinivas Alavilli, Fellow at WRI India, highlighted that the initiative aimed to motivate people to integrate bicycles into their first- and last-mile commute at least twice a week, as part of their transition from Personal2Public.

Sathya Sankaran, bicycle mayor and founder of CFAM, stressed that the initiative sought to popularise the efforts of authorities and assist people in identifying safe routes to access metro and bus stations.