Biking Mumbai, India



mary roach

Here's the key difference: In India, drivers are accustomed to sharing the road with bicycles. They've been doing it for a ­century. In US cities, by contrast, a bicycle in rush-hour traffic still isn't an everyday sight. ­Drivers tend to view bikes as interlopers, nuisances. The law may recognize a cyclist's right to ride in traffic, but the traffic itself often does not. In Mumbai, bicyclist and driver are closer to equals. As Suresh says, "We are all moving traffic. It's one big, good family." That is honestly how it feels. Drivers honk constantly, but not in anger. They honk to let you know they're there. It's a polite honk: "Hello, Madam? Please take heed." The sense of us-versus-them that dogs the American bicycle commuter is absolutely missing in Mumbai. I felt safer in the middle of a four-lane Mumbai city street than I do in a similar setting in San Francisco or Oakland, the two cities in which I've commuted by bike.

"In this sense, Bombay is a great place to cycle," Bhowmik agrees. Then he goes on a five-minute rant about stray dogs.

This is what I learn in India. A bike-friendly city doesn't always begin with infrastructure. It most often begins with bicyclists. In the United States, where almost everyone can afford a car, the everyday-riding movement has had to start small, building a constituency, inching toward a tipping point. I've watched it happen in Oakland, where I live. It begins with people, one at a time, deciding to give it a try. In doing so, they're not just riding to work, they're inspiring by example. This is Suresh's main strategy. "People wave me over every day as I ride," she tells me. "They are curious. They want to find out about cycling to work."

Maybe this will work. Despite the potholes and dogs, the traffic and the heat, sales of bicycles for recreation and transportation—as opposed to livelihood—are up all over urban India. Pune has 88 kilometers of bike lanes, and Bangalore is catching up. An organization called Cycle Chalao has helped India's Ministry of Urban Development put together a toolkit for cities interested in setting up bike-sharing ­programs. Suresh is irrepressibly upbeat: "Since 2007, the graph looks like this." She held her hand at a 45-degree angle. "The numbers are increasing. We are definitely seeing it."

Now they just need to figure out what to do with the elephants.

READ MORE: Your Guide to Riding Everywhere