A labourer cycling through traffic on Ring Road near Rajghat in Delhi.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recently laid the foundation of a new track to “encourage and foster cycling among the people of the city”.
However, several cyclists — both fitness enthusiasts and those for whom it is a mode of transport — say Delhi has a long way to go before becoming a safe city for them.
In 2022, the Capital’s roads accounted for 182 cycling accidents, with 134 cyclists injured and 48 killed, as per information from a senior traffic police official.
Dalip Singh Sabharwal, an active member of Delhi’s cycling community, said the infrastructure which caters only to recreational cyclists does not serve people for whom cycling is a mode of transport for economic or environmental reasons. “Cycling tracks in the city cover a very short distance and, eventually, the cyclist has to switch to the main road,” he said.
Rajendra Kumar, who sells cell phone covers and other accessories near Saket metro station, mirrored the sentiment. A Delhi resident for the past 15 years, he has seen the traffic getting more aggressive. “Early in the morning, I am likely to either get squashed by some speeding car or a drunk driver. Later in the day, during rush hour, I have to risk commuting in heavy traffic. So I’m unsure when it’s safe for me to step out for work.”
In its 2041 Master Plan, the Delhi Development Authority acknowledges that the city has a high share of daily active travel, with 42% trips being walking and cycling ones. Over the last decade, walking trips have increased marginally, but cycling trips have reduced by nearly a third.
The lack of separate cycling tracks and heavy vehicular traffic unnerves cyclists. Mrunal Kelkar, a postgraduate student at the School of Planning and Architecture, said, “Since the bus lane is on the left and slower vehicles like cycles are also supposed to be on the left side of the road, it is quite a nightmare to cross bus stops, especially when cyclists have to take U-turns.”
Gaurav Wadhwa, a recreational cyclist who started Delhi Cyclists in 2010, said roads that do have cycling tracks in the city “are mostly encroached upon by vendors and hawkers. If not, they are completely taken over by motorists, leaving us no space at all”.
In 2009, as part of attempts to provide last-mile connectivity, the Delhi government had introduced public bicycle-sharing which requires different apps to be downloaded since various companies are operational.
These are not accessible to many like Rajat Singh, a key chain seller in Connaught Place. “People in power lack the ability to imagine a city for those who cycle to and for work,” he said.