Although two years ago only a few hundred cyclists joined the Victory Day ride (bicycle rally) in Dhaka organised by BDCyclists, one of the prominent cycling groups in the country, this year the group claims that about seven thousand cyclists turned out at their Victory Day ride. This is a clear indication that there has been a great surge in the number of cyclists in Dhaka in the past few years.
Only a few years ago cycling to commute was a thing for the rural people and the urban poor. It was somewhat a taboo mode of transport for the urban well-to-do, especially in Dhaka. However, the scenario has changed now.
People from all walks of life, including the well-to-do, are seen to be commuting by cycling these days in Dhaka as they have realised that commuting by cycling will help them to save time as they will be able to bypass the horrendous traffic congestion of the city and in the long run they will be able to reduce their commuting costs.
These new commuter cyclists have also realised that cycling will help them to stay healthy, fit and stress-free as they do not have to wait in long queues, travel in overcrowded buses, get their pockets picked and bargain about the fare.
Bangkok has one of the worst traffic congestions in the world. Realising that the city's traffic congestion could be reduced if more people commuted by cycling, the Prime Minister of Thailand, General Prayut Chan-o-cha has recently declared cycling as the urgent national focus.
As part of the agenda the Thai premier wants to expand bicycle lanes throughout Thailand, setting forth improved bike routes as an urgent national policy.
Authorities in many other cities that are dealing with traffic congestion around the world have also focused on providing infrastructure and facilities to promote cycling such as bicycle lanes, bicycle-share-programme and safe bicycle parking areas.
The streets of Dhaka are not quite bicycle friendly mainly due to reckless driving. Many non-cyclists in Dhaka have stated that they are willing to commute by cycling provided that there are bicycle lanes on the major arterial roadways such as Mirpur Road, Airport Road and Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, the overall road environment becomes conducive to cycling and there are safe bicycle parking areas.
The commuting distance of many people in Dhaka can be easily travelled by cycling but due to the unsafe cycling environment many of these people use modes other than cycling, mostly motorised transport modes, which is causing the traffic congestion. Similar to Thailand, the government may consider declaring cycling as a national policy and take steps to improve the cycling environment in Dhaka by providing bicycle lanes and safe bicycle parking areas.
In the long run this may help to reduce the traffic congestion making the city more livable and trendy.
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Declare cycling as a national policy like Thailand
Ridwan Quaium | Published: December 23, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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