Bengaluru quantifies cycle-to-work distance, clocks 30,000km in three months

BENGALURU: The city has started to quantify the distances clocked by

lifestyle cyclists

commuting to their offices — probably a first in the country — and the figure of the first quarter ending December 2018 stands at nearly 30,000km.

Car-free day observed in Bengaluru on September 22, 2018 marked the beginning of the exercise under Cycle-to-Work (C2W) campaign, which is being spearheaded by Bengaluru cycle mayor Sathya Sankaran and like-minded organisations.

Under C2W, city-based companies register themselves on cycleto.work website and encourage their employees to be a part of the campaign, for which they take the help of “ambassadors” (cycle evangelists working in the company) to push the cause.

The quantification is based on an app to which all the riders are connected. Figures pertaining to the number of riders of the respective companies, along with the trips they complete and the distance they cover, are updated on the website.

Most of the 91 companies registered so far are active. With the help of 312 riders, they have completed 3,244 trips, clocking 29,960km.

Quintype Technologies India, with its 15 riders doing 410 trips, has clocked 3,598km. It is followed by BumsOnTheSaddle (BOTS) at 3,207km, but with only four employees doing 185 trips. Cisco Systems India-Cesna stands third with 2,307km with the help of 64 riders doing 334 trips.

While most companies are in the 300-700km range, some have crossed the 1,000km mark. However, 30 companies are yet to open the account.

Pat on riders’ back

The cycle mayor said they are planning to incentivise companies at end of each quarter. “Adding new members matters a lot, especially in maximising the distance. LG Soft India has managed to cover 443km with just two employees in 86 trips. That way, adding even one member makes a big difference in terms of the final distance. The product of the number of riders and trips has a direct bearing on reducing the carbon footprint.”

Using cycles which are part of public-sharing system and the last mile pedalled from Namma Metro stations to office is also counted, the cycle mayor added.

Making a difference

Kuruvilla Choolackal, who is the “ambassador” for Quintype Technologies India, accredits the office’s cycle group QBikers for topping in the first quarter. “I started riding over a year ago, and it made a lot of difference with regard to boosting my energy and losing weight,” said Kuruvilla, adding that it also made him encourage his colleagues to cycle.