Is cycling good for India's economy?

India's Love for Cycle

In today’s newsletter, we talk about the untouched topic.

Is cycling good for economy?

Pankaj Munjal MD of Hero Cycle said, said every crisis gives something new. Post Covid-19, the bicycle market would see more demand as people would prefer individual and safe commuting, and become more aware of eco-friendly ways of transportation. The MD also said that their daughter company in England had 600 percent growth. And Germany is also making a record sale.

Asper report released by BCG, on average, travelers, in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata spend 1.5 hours more on their daily commutes than their counterparts in other Asian cities during peak traffic time.

Whereas Post COVID, Office goers and regular commuters in Tier 1 & Tier 2 cities have realized there is no point in waiting endlessly for a bus as it’s near impossible to board during peak hours. Cycling 10 km is an easy option than finding a place on the bus. 

But the situation is not good in a rural area, as per an article published by The Hindu.

200 million people walk up to 10 km to reach their place of work, and providing them a bicycle will increase their productivity and standard of living. 

Well, a bigger question is cycling better for the economy?

Employment and GDP would be affected but not as much as we think. 

Studies by TERI estimated that the GDP of the country can grow up to 1.5 percent if 50 percent of all work trips made using motorized transport is converted to cycling.

India’s biggest cities may be losing up to $22 billion annually to traffic congestion, and its commuters are bearing the burden. The average Mumbai resident wastes 11 days a year stuck in traffic jams.

A country like India that spends 8 lakh crores on importing oil can use 60–70% of that money for infrastructure development (figure of 60 to 70% comes from the fact that most of these fuels are used in private cars).

That's not at all, a global shift to increased cycling and electric biking could cut energy use and carbon dioxide emissions up to 10 percent by 2050 & could save society more than $24 trillion. The average economic benefit-to-cost ratio of investing in cycling & walking schemes is 13:1.

India is the world’s second-largest manufacturer of cycles after China and the world’s third-largest consumer. Last year, as per industry estimates, bicycle sales in India stood at over 16.5 million units, valued at Rs 5,000-5,500crore.

Across cities – Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai many are preferring cycling as a mode of transport whether to go about office work, household chores or exercise.

Can India leverage this opportunity and become a new destination of the cycle economy?