Hyderabad: Temporary cycle lanes will be introduced soon to encourage people to take up cycling or use buses, said Cyberabad police commissioner C.V. Anand. He was speaking at the cycle rally held on Thursday to support the Car Free Thursday campaign. The rally was held to create awareness among the public to use public transport or go for carpooling.
Nearly 300 cyclists including police personnel, IT professionals and students participated in the rally from Inorbit mall to the commissioner’s office. The Car Free Thursday initiative was launched four months ago in Cyberabad IT corridor.
The Car Free Thursday campaign initially focussed on building awareness and enlisting volunteers. A sub campaign called ‘One Lakh Hands’ was also launched to make bikers and car users opt for public transport by distributing leaflets by one lakh school children.
Mr Anand said the increase in number of vehicles was causing traffic jams and massive pollution. In the first phase the police has identified the route from IIIT junction to Waverock via Wipro junction to arrange temporary cycle lanes, particularly from 8 am to 11 am and from 5 pm to 9 pm. “We are working on an arrangement in which a person coming by bus can pick up a cycle and reach his destination,” said DCP A.K. Mohanty.
Urban transport planner Prashanth Bachu said there is no democratic use of public space in the country. Car owners are occupying 20 times the space used by a person travelling by bus. “Those who don’t like buses should carpool. Five people traveling together in a car eliminates four private vehicles,” he added.
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