Pedal power

Get a bicycle if you are tired of fuel shortages and overcrowded public transportation Pedal power

Karan Kunwar

Published at : October 6, 2015

Updated at : January 17, 2020 15:24

The shortage of fuel, in contrast to such instances in the past, has been termed an ‘emergency’ by the Home Ministry. And there could be no better time than now to take up cycling.

For four years, I have been riding a bicycle as well as advocating and promoting its use among my friends. This is because, more often than not, I had to twist my body like a professional gymnast to fit inside a microbus. But on a bicycle, I felt almost free as a bird. Once I took up cycling, I felt sorry for those who chose to or needed to take a microbus to work, and to wait for hour at a petrol pump to fill up the tank of their motorbikes. And, for the first time, it feels as though the ongoing shortage of fuel has forced many people to reconsider their mode of transportation.

Value of bicycle

Unlike in the past, I have noticed people lined up at petrol pumps look at me with envy. Some of them even seem to be ashamed of themselves. Each year, during the Kora cycling event that takes place in Kathmandu, the onlookers seem to be in solidarity with the cyclists. Many seem to get the message that cycling is a fun and cool thing to do. However, many continue to have doubts about the efficiency and economics of commuting by cycle. People, in general, seem to have two misconceptions about cycling. First, it is a vehicle of poor people. Second, ‘proper’ cycling is an expensive hobby. The truth is, there is no such thing as ‘proper’ cycling. If it were so, I would have never taken up cycling.

What we need is for cycling to become a way to foster national unity and to command respect. Nobody should be ashamed of cycling. As the ongoing crisis has forced a few people in my circle to seriously, consider buying a cycle we must be thankful to our southern neighbour and our politicians.

If anything, the long fuel queues only strengthen the belief that the people of Kathmandu like to appear really busy. However, they are not a tad bit so. Travelling on a bicycle around the Ring Road takes almost the same amount of time as a motorcycle. As a bicycle rider, I can guarantee you that it is faster than public transportation. If you are time conscious, you would probably want to cycle with more freedom than ride in cramped public transportation or wait in long queues.

Economics of cycling

In addition, cycling is not expensive as many assume it to be. I progressed from riding an old cycle to a really cheap Chinese mountain bike and then bought an entry-level mountain bike. It cost me around Rs 40,000 which is a huge amount for me. The decision to buy this particular bike was based on the calculation of my daily transport fare to college for two years.

I need to change vehicles twice to reach Hattiban which would cost me around Rs 50 daily. If there are four Saturdays and two to three public holidays in a month, I would have to attend college for 25 days. This amounts to Rs 1,250 in transport fare per month and Rs 13,750 per year, calculated based on the academic year lasting 11 months. In two years, I would be spending Rs 27,500 on travelling back and forth from my home and college. That amount is equivalent to more than 60 percent of the investment on my bicycle. Many people point out that my cost-benefit analysis has left out 40 percent of the price of the bicycle and servicing charges. My response to this has always been asking them how they want to use the bicycle. If their answer is that they want to use it only in the city, my suggestion to them is to add a gear to their old cycle to allow them to tackle the small hills on Kathmandu’s roads. It will save the expense of buying a geared bicycle, yet make riding around-town fun.
But, if you do occasionally want to hop on your bicycle and head for the hills around Kathmandu, buy a good frame bicycle which can be easily modified according to your need to upgrade in the near future. Just ask any bicyclist what they want to do with their bicycle, they will say something about upgrading. Non-cyclist readers have the option of checking their wallets and deciding which bike to ride instead of complaining about the fuel shortage, long lines at the petrol pumps and Kathmandu’s pollution. Lastly, if you do decide to buy a bicycle, ride it with pride.