Nine city cyclists from Mumbai to be honoured on World Bicycle Day on June 3

The Smart Commute Foundation will hold a conference on May 27 to discuss their vision for 2030 – making Mumbai the ‘bicycle capital of India.’

Kamlesh Thakur, 29, an employee of a food service app, spends 12-14 hours daily riding his bicycle around the city to make his deliveries. Recently featured on the social media page of a city-based initiative Cycle2Work, Thakur says his earning on the job helped fund his sisters’ weddings. “I have been making food deliveries for the past four years. Last year, I got two of my sisters married using the earning from the bicycle deliveries.”

Kamlesh Thakur, 29, an employee of a food service app, says his earning on the job helped fund his sisters’ weddings. (HT photo)

Thakur is one among eight others who will be felicitated by Smart Commute Foundation – which runs the Cycle2Work network – on June 2, ahead of World Bicycle Day. The United Nations had, in 2018, declared June 3 World Bicycle Day to promote the use of a “simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation.”

Firoza Suresh, founder, Smart Commute Foundation, said, “The bicycle makes it quicker for them [food delivery app employees] to manoeuvre through traffic. They earn ₹12,000-15,000 a month, which helps them support their family. Plus, this helps spread the message of adopting a healthy and environment-friendly means of transport.”

The Foundation will also hold a conference on May 27 to discuss their vision for 2030 – making Mumbai the ‘bicycle capital of India.’ Members of the organisation are currently working with the traffic police department to establish the official estimate of bicycle riders in the city.

Suresh, dubbed the Bicycle Mayor of the city, said, “By 2023, some phases of the Metro will become operational. The roads will be free of construction and have proper barricades. We plan to increase the cycle ridership to 1 lakh by then.” Currently, six Metro lines are under-construction in the city. Suresh said bicycles will also get a boost given the demand for last-mile connectivity – the transport from the station to commuters’ homes.