We live in a fast-moving world today that is ripe with pollution and bad-air quality.
According to a study based on 2016 data, at least 140 million people in India breathe air that is 10 times or more over the safe limit recommended by the World Health Organisation. And 13 of the world’s 20 cities with the highest annual levels of air pollution are in India. We are imminently facing a major environmental crisis that needs to very quickly be addressed.
27 % of the total pollution in India can be attributed to the emissions from the huge number of fuel-driven vehicles in our urban cities. In India, a large part of our population use personal vehicles for commuting. This, compounded by the traffic, and the distance travelled every day, makes for tremendous amounts of emissions on a daily basis. Our roads are filled with vehicular congestion and traffic problems which are slowly making the air we breathe harmful to the sustenance of life.
There is however a very simple solution.
Cycling!
By switching to this eco-friendly mode of transport for your daily commute, we can significantly help to alleviate environmental pollution.
On November 28th 2021, Yulu partnered with Rotary Bangalore IT Corridor (RBITC), Directorate of Urban Land Transportation (DULT), Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) to organise two Cycling Awareness rallies.
The rallies were held along the Outer Ring Road (ORR) cycle lane and Malleshwaram. Karnataka IT-BT Minister and Malleswaram MLA Dr. CN Ashwath Narayan, Padma Shri Awardee Mr. KY Venkatesh and Malleswaram Mobility Councillor Arvind Dwarakanath were the guests of honour for the event.
These events were conceptualised to help create awareness about the newly built cycle tracks and promote the culture of cycling. The rallies encouraged citizens to cycle to help in the reduction of traffic congestion, besides enlightening us about the benefits of cycling on our health and environment.
In the past two years, we’ve all learnt the importance and vitality of good health and fitness. Cycling has been known to be a good boost for your physical health. This habit also rejuvenates our mental and emotional wellbeing. Moreover, in urban cities with the busy lifestyle that most of us lead, riding a cycle gives us a chance to get outdoors and breathe some fresh air.
Also, if more people cycle, we would have more traffic-free spaces. Which makes for more space for enabling biodiversity and green spaces with trees, plants and wildlife. Cycling also helps reduce noise pollution on our streets, which has been found to cause significant mental and physical ailments.
These Cycling Awareness rallies helped Yulu exercise our passion for building sustainable modes of transport and simultaneously exercise our desire to create a positive social impact. Yulu began its journey with the main goal of reducing traffic congestion and pollution and making first and last-mile connectivity seamless in Indian cities. The initiatives undertaken by Yulu since its inception has been relentless in making the urban commute seamless, shareable and sustainable. Yulu’s motive has always been to make people’s lives easier, and the company is continuously striving to create a positive impact in society in every way we can.
This article was originally published by Yulu.
