How do slum-dwellers from Andheri travel?

According to the city’s Development Plan, 51% of the city’s total transportation is either on foot or on cycles.

In order to increase cycle ridership in the city, students of LS Raheja School of Architecture, along with the Smart Commute Foundation, will study travel patterns of slum-dwellers in K-West ward, Andheri, for the next three months.

According to the city’s Development Plan, 51% of the city’s total transportation is either on foot or on cycles.(Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

The exercise, which will start on June 3, is a part of the foundation’s Vision 2030, which looks at making Mumbai the bicycle capital of India. “Most people in the informal settlements already use cycles as commuting is expensive in Mumbai. With this study, we will look at ways to encourage the usage and provide more cycles,” said Firoza Suresh, founder, Smart Commute Foundation, which started the cycle-to-work movement in the city.

According to the city’s Development Plan, 51% of the city’s total transportation is either on foot or on cycles. “We will start with slums adjacent to the Gilbert Hill. Fourth-year architecture students will first map the slums,” said Priya Kanchan, urban planner and professor, LS Raheja School of Architecture.

As part of the Vision 2030, the foundation aims to build cycle ridership of one lakh by 2023. “We are working with all stakeholders like the BMC, MMRDA and BEST, to build the kind of infrastructure, which the city needs for cycling,” Suresh said. The foundation is also looking at creating 30 cycle hubs where Mumbaiites can park their bicycles. Two hubs, at Worli and Goregaon, have started operating.

According to a report titled, ‘Benefits of cycling in India: An economic, environmental and social assessment’, by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) released in January, if 50% of two-wheeler and fourwheeler trips under an average distance of 8km, are substituted with cycles in India, it will bring down fuel expenses by ₹27 billion. “Non-motorised transport like bicycles have not been the focus in transport planning though it has benefits,” Akanksha Jain, research associate at TERI said.