Cycling to work

Cyberabad is swarming with employees and the government wanted to inculcate the green and healthy habit of cycling among corporates. So then, why were only CEOs cherry-picked for this event? DV Manohar replied, “Changes often begin from the top.

If the CEO decides that his employees must cycle to work, it will happen. It would also help companies create a healthier business and social relationship amongst their employees, creating a more productive and cohesive workforce. And above all, the benefits of cycling have been testified by multitude.”

He stressed on involvement of senior management to spread awareness among employees, schemes to motivate employees to ‘Cycle to Work’ and a dedicated priority parking facility for cycles.

Manohar, who also made a presentation, expressed enthusiasm over the initiative and said that Hyderabad should join the league of cities like Amsterdam, Portland, Copenhagen, Berlin and Barcelona, of having a huge number of citizens cycle to work. To provide a boost to the employees, he suggested, “IT hubs and corporate offices must have special kiosks for cyclists. There must be facilities for change-ups and showers.”

MT Krishna Babu, who also took part in the 10km-ride, was happy with the response for the bike stations. “The first bike station at Necklace Road has been very successful. This will in turn reduce the traffic congestion. According to a report, 30 per cent of the population of Hyderabad uses 70 per cent of the roads.” Krishna Babu concurred, “In turn, more number of bike stations would prove to be very helpful in many ways and suggested them to be placed in most MMTS stations also.”

Civic chief Somesh Kumar said there was a master plan of constructing a 60-km bicycling tracks, crisscrossing the Hitech City within one year. The work had been expedited and would be completed within six months. Concurring with the proposal suggested by Krishna Babu, he said that in a short span of time most of the MMTS stations would also have bike stations attached to them. “We will also provide concessions for those who use bicycles and bike stations in MMTS stations, he added.”

The role of Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) has been pivotal in setting up bike stations in the city. HMR MD, NVS Reddy, concurred, “We will leave no stone unturned in making proper provisions for the last mile connectivity for public. Bicycles should become a fashion statement. To promote this, I wish to inform that all the 66 metro stations which are coming up will have a bike station.”

“We have brought a particular type of swipe-card-technology from Samsung in Korea to be implemented in Hyderabad. The bicycles will be placed in a slot and as you swipe your card, a bicycle will be allotted to you by the machine.

The good side of this is that you will not need to take the cycle back to the same metro station and can drop it at any metro station in the city.” Narrating a unique experience, DV Manohar said, “I wish to tell everyone that I got a mail from a friend of mine from Denver. He congratulated me, and told me that the HBC has become the world’s largest bicycling club. At present they have 4,390 members.” What he added was music to everyone’s ears. Manohar said, “We will be setting up the third bike station at Hitec City. This will be a state-of -the-art bike station of the country.

The new bike station will have up to 1,000 bicycles. It will have other amenities like food courts, a recreation centre and change rooms. There are nearly half-a-million youngsters in the city working in Hitec City. We want everyone to inculcate this habit.”

Inspired by such efforts of the government to promote cycling, Sushil Goenka, director, 3F Indusries, said, “I will start offering cash incentives for people who would cycle to work.”

Governor ESL Narasimhan had inaugurated the bike station at Gachibowli with a track for 2 km cycling in September. The stakeholders in the project have been the HBC, GHMC, APIIC and Kapil Group. The bike station had nearly 300 bicycles, which could be rented by anyone.