Cycling Around
My dad told me he would buy me a motorbike next year. That is welcome, but driving around in a private vehicle for a middle class family member like me is going to be expensive, what with the ever increasing fuel prices. The motor bike itself is going to cost at least a hundred thousand rupees, while I will need to spend around a hundred rupees for the fuel everyday to travel 40-60km.
Has anyone give a serious thought to cycling? I come from the Terai and grew up cycling. After shifting to the capital, however I realized that people here do not move around in bicycles. It’s mostly the vegetable vendors who do so with the expectation of a few, of course. So I figured that a vehicle determines one’s status in society in Kathmandu.
It used to take me 20 minutes to reach my school which was three kilometers away from my home. It was all so cheap because you could buy a first hand bicycle for Rs 4,500. Maintenance charge did not exceed Rs. 25 a month. All in all, per month expenditure on my bike came to around Rs 40.
But here in the capital, I am having to spend Rs 14 per day commuting from Gaushala Putalisadak on the public vehicle. This means I am spending Rs 400 a month on transportation.
There is no denying that a bicycle ride is very economical. It also has other advantages. It is the most energy efficient transportation that provides healthy exercise with better muscle tone, bone mass improvement and a clear skin. It also helps to improve one’s self esteem. You don’t need separate time for exercising if you cycle daily. It is environment-friendly as it creates neither noise nor air pollution.
The best part is that you are less likely to get stuck in the traffic jams as you can weave through the traffic easily. And last but not the least, parking comes cheap.
Now, I am not expecting you to throw away your motorbikes and cars and start cycling. But for short distances, it would certainly be beneficial to use the bicycle. Maybe people of social standing could promote this mode of transportation.
Would you take to cycling if, say, Nima Rumba or Nikhil Upreti went around in bikes? I am sure if personalities like Hari Bansha Acharya and Madan Krishna Shrestha, or if doctors and business entrepreneurs did the same, a lot of people would be inspired to go around on bikes. When there are so many advantages to cycling, why not use it?
PUBLISHED IN THE RISING NEPAL, 2011 MARCH 03
