Islamabad - As the traffic signal at a crossing near Shakarparian over Faisal Avenue turned red, Mahiuddin, in his early 40s, suddenly squeezed the brakes of his bicycle; the rear wheel started skidding but he managed to stop his bike just ahead of a car. After a while, the green light appeared and the motorbike riders and the drivers of other vehicles started honking, asking the middle-aged man to get out of their way, as the ‘poor’ bicyclist, according to them, does not enjoy equal rights like others who commute between Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Mahiuddin works as a security guard in a private company in Islamabad. He commutes between his office and his home on daily basis on his bicycle.
As he crossed the signal, despite his hurt feelings, he shared his experiences with this scribe upon request. “I save up to Rs38 on a daily basis through using a bicycle; you must know that we, the security guards, are paid a meagre salary. So we can’t afford public transport to commute,” said Mahiuddin.
He said that he had bought the old-style Sohrab bicycle for Rs3,500 from one of his neighbours in 2013. It needs much effort to get to Islamabad, as one has to ascend the road while on the other side “I enjoy my journey”. According to him moving between the twin cities via bicycle is not a big deal but actually it is the attitude of drivers of cars and other vehicles that compel bicyclists to feel like “the children of a lesser god”. “Had there been modest transport system fees, I would never use a bicycle,” he said.
The high fares of public transport between the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, despite drastic reduction in the price of petroleum products, are unaffordable for the lower cadre government and private sector employees. The ultimate choice for them is bicycle. The bicyclists are of the view if there were proper cycles tracks/lanes, commuting on bicycles would be very easy and not time consuming.
The increasing poverty, price hikes and especially the high fares have compelled many commuters to use the decades-old means of transportation, the bicycle. Although in European countries, people use bicycles to commute, their roads and better bicycles, like racing bicycles, touring bikes and mountain bikes, make the journey more than simply a matter of transport, it makes it enjoyable.
Highbred bikes are used due to their stability, comfort and ease to ride while in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, bicycles are mostly used by the poor with an exception by the rich for leisure.
For Aftab Alam, a resident of Shamsabad in Rawalpindi, his bicycle plays multiple roles. “I go to workplace on it; I carry load on it while sometime on weakened I take my family for outing,” said Aftab who was in Faisal Mosque along with his wife and a child. “Sometime the reckless drivers worried about our safety; if our roads were bike-friendly, bikes would be the ultimate choice for the poor commuters,” he said.
Ibrahim, a student living in I-10 sector of Islamabad, goes to college by bicycle. “Not only I save money for my parents but I also enjoy my journey to college. However, on rainy day it becomes impossible to ride,” he added. According to Ibrahim, the government should take measures to make cycling a popular mode of transportation amongst the students which is also good for their health. “Very few students use bicycles to commute and it is the reason that sometime boys representing well-off families scorn us. The situation would be different, if the use of bicycles were common in our city,” he added.
A considerable number of people in twin cities use bicycles, the best mode of transportation for the poor. “We have a good numbers of customers buying bicycles; if there were cycle-friendly roads, bicycles would be the popular mode of transportation both for poor and rich commuters; cycling not only saves money but it is also good for health,” said Aslam Paracha, a cycle dealer in Liaqat Market Rawalpindi.
A town planner at the Capital Development Authority (CDA) when asked about why the road infrastructure in Islamabad does not have a separate/exclusive cycle lanes he said, “The authorities had hardly managed routes for the other vehicles while constructing separate lanes for bicycles, at the moment is, impossible”.