A big obstacle in India is the perception that bicycles are for the poor man.“Indians don’t see cycling as an inspiring thing. Cycling is seen as, ‘you don’t have money to buy a car.’’’ — Typical Quote

I remember fighting with my parents to allow me to bike to school! Please keep in mind, I wasn’t a bike activist back then. Of course, they were concerned about my safety back then and well even today the concern is still very much prevalent among parents while allowing their children to bike to school.

Ask anyone who biked to school, was there ever a problem of people’s perception?

NO! In fact to them, going to school on bicycle was way more cooler than going in the boring school bus! It certainly made the commute more fun with friends, didn’t it?

Before launching MYBYK, I would often throw the idea to my friends & family to have their views and would always get this to hear:

“Idea toh acha hai…lekin problem ye hai ki public ko lagta hai ki cycle garib aadmi ke liye hai’. (Idea is great but the problem is it is perceived as a poor man’s vehicle in India)

      And I would shoot back saying:

     “Public ko chodo….aap ko kya lagta hai? Kya aapko           cycle chalane mein sharam aati hai?”. (Forget what         the people at large think, ask yourself, whether you          feel embarrassed while cycling?)

      And most of the times, I would get this reply:

     “Nahi nahi…cycle mein kya sharam…ulta health ke         liye achi hai…paryavaran ke liye achi hai…blah               blah..” (I don’t feel embarassed at all! Infact cycling is       good for health, environment….)

     The problem is we have a wrong perception of the          people’s perception about cycle. Ask anyone to reply for themselves and most of the times you will get the above answer!

People left cycling not because of some social stigma attached to it but because cycling became ‘less convenient’ (and not inconvenient)! Unless a product is aspirational, its consumption is driven by its utility quotient. A bicycle may not be an aspirational product but it certainly serves a utility. However, advent of motorbikes and cars meant the said utility could now be served in a faster and more convenient manner. Obviously, the humble bicycle became less preferred mode of transport then.

Further, since the alternatives were way more expensive compared to a bicycle and not everyone could afford it, though everyone would love to have it as it helped increase their productivity, they also became aspirational. I am still struggling to understand how that necessarily translates into bicycle being an inferior product. Anyways…slowly and gradually, India started progressing. The standard of living has gone up and so has the purchasing power. With easily available EMIs’, today anyone can easily afford a car which …err…makes them less aspirational! Ok…I can live with that since they do still serve a utility….only that….with the ever growing traffic and parking hassles, they do seem to have become ‘less convenient’.

Wait! So cars (at least the likes of alto, wagon R, santro or the i10's) are losing their aspirational quotient and they are also proving to be less convenient is it? I guess, its time to look into the future and invent another alternative!

Wait, what…a bicycle? You are saying this is the future alternative. Are you kidding me! Sure, it does seem to be more convenient than a car today…but isn’t it passe?

— CA Arjit Soni, Founding Director, Greenpedia Bike Share Private Limited.

ps: This post was earlier published on Medium.