Goodbye clean air, pollution is back

Over the past two months under an unprecedented global lockdown, people with asthma and COPD experienced an unusual freedom. People with respiratory conditions reported an improvement in symptoms and reduction in consumption of anti-asthmatic drugs and inhalers. Children with respiratory allergies breathed easy. Unfortunately, this freedom from choking air is likely to be temporary unless we act quickly and act now.

As lockdown restrictions are lifted, most cities are likely to slide back to their polluted selves. According to data from environmental body Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea), air pollution in China has already returned back to pre-pandemic levels, with concentrations of PM 2.5 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) now at the same levels as last year. In India, a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found that pollution levels which were down by a whopping 79% during the initial phase of the lockdown in Delhi NCR are rising again as the region opens up. The question now is whether we will sit back and allow this slide in air quality to continue or do we have the will to act and stop it?

According to the CSE study Delhi has around 12.1 million registered vehicles, of which 4.6 million are private vehicles. With visits to workplaces and recreation activities curtailed during the lockdown, only a fraction of these vehicles plied on the roads. The study also found that cycling and walking increased from 14% to an impressive 43%.

Travel habits of people have changed across the world in recent months with the coronavirus crisis ushering in a cycling revolution in several cities. In the UK, bicycle orders witnessed a 200% surge buoyed by a ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme that incentivizes cycling. The office of the London mayor is devising a new plan to enable more people to walk and cycle safely. This plan includes adding dedicated biking lanes, footways and restricting driving. In the Italian city of Milan which is a highly polluted city, authorities are converting 35 km of roads previously used by cars into dedicated walking and cycling routes. In Bogota, the capital city of Columbia, 120 km of streets have been declared free of motorized transport. In Paris, people are taking to cycles like never before with the French government incentivizing cycling by offering cash support.

While a large part of this behavioural change has been driven by the apprehension of using public transport during a viral pandemic, environmentalists and policymakers are hoping this will be the foundation of a long-term shift in travel habits.

Promote cycling

India is one of those countries that desperately need a cycling revolution. Getting rid of emissions from motorized transport is the need of the hour. Unfortunately, without an active policy push, urban behaviour is not likely to change. As people return to work, the fear of the virus is keeping a large number of people of public transport. This section of people can either translate into highly unsustainable personal car users or environmental friendly cycle users. Simple policy measures can help ensure a shift to cycling rather than personal motorized vehicles.

Governments must consider making it mandatory for every city to have at least 50 km of dedicated cycle lanes on some of the busiest routes. Cycling paths must be created in all municipal parks and residential areas to encourage cycling as a safe mode of exercise. Similarly, a cohesive infrastructure for cyclists with adequate safety measures lit upcycle paths and strict traffic rules against vehicles trespassing into cycle lanes must be implemented.

Governments in India must also consider offering financial incentives to people taking up cycling to work on the lines of the UK and France. Tax concessions for those cycling to work and monetary help to people looking buy cycles are key incentives. Electric cycles have the potential to become a major element of a bike promotion strategy as they can allow people easily to travel moderate to longer distances as well. Subsidizing electric cycles can go a long way in promoting their usage in these circumstances.

(The writer is the Chairman of HMC, a Hero Motors Company)