Cyclists say the eco-friendly measure is welcome, but more such buses are needed, along with more promotion for the racks

'Equip more buses with bike racks'

Cyclists say the eco-friendly measure is welcome, but more such buses are needed, along with more promotion for the racks

On a roll: Several European and American cities have adopted the
concept of installing bike racks on buses in a bid to reduce pollution.
Representation pic

While welcoming the move, cyclists, however, feel that the number of racks fitted is too less and enough is not being done to promote them.

"I have not seen even one such bus on the streets, nor have I heard of anybody using the bike rack. We don't need too many such buses, but two are just not enough. At least 10-20 are needed for people to get encouraged to take to cycling to their workplaces," said Murali Ramanath, project manager of Ride a Cycle Foundation, which promotes cycling in the city.

The group also says that the service needs to be introduced in areas like Whitefields, Electronic City, and Bannerghatta as well.

"It would be a nice thing to have more racks as they are useful. At the moment we often try to carry our bikes on buses without racks but they don't let us," said IT professional Mayank Rungta.

Students of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), which has a bicycle-friendly campus, say the move is a good one but hasten to add that it hasn't been promoted enough and thus, people are unaware.

"A higher number of buses fitted with these racks and adequate promotion of them should make a big difference, especially to students of colleges which have bicycle-friendly campuses," said IIM student Praveen Gopal Krishnan.

"The BMTC has been very helpful and proactive about bringing about the change," said Transport Commissioner Bhaskar Rao. "This is the first time in India, so it took a lot of coaxing and cajoling, but I am happy they finally responded."

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