Surveys suggest that if cycling in Mangalore was more convenient as well as safe, many more people would have started to cycle to places. It is said that out of the total population surveys, 97% of women as well as 98% of men are interested in using cycles as a medium of transport. This survey was conducted to understand the challenges Mangaluru Smart City Limited (MSCL) will undergo as they prepare for the #cycles4change challenge.
28% of the 1674 people who responded to the survey were women while 72% were men. 4% respondents were below the age of 14 while 6% were between the ages of 14 and 18 a maximum of 81% of respondents were above the age of 18 and below 50 and 9% were above 50 years of age. 80% of the participants who responded were women who preferred to own their own cycle while 84% of men felt the need for the same. On being asked whether they know how to cycle, 99% and 84% men and women respectively replied in the affirmative.
When being asked about factors that hinder cycling in Mangalore city, speeding vehicles were feared 77% of women and 69% of men, 63% of women and 68% of men found parked vehicles and pedestrians as hindrances. Other fears included potholes, open drains and eve teasing. More than half the population who did the survey believed that Mangalore was unsafe as well as inconvenient for both men and women.
Safety is a major problem at junctions for 31% of men and 39% of women. In addition to this statistic, 37% of women and 35% of men felt unsafe on main roads and 12% of women and 18% of men felt unsafe on narrow roads. Almost 38% of women and 64% of men ride their bicycles daily or a few days a week.
It is encouraging to know that only 10% of the cyclists felt the commute distance is too long in the city, only 15% feel that the weather is unpleasant for cycling and 24% of the cyclists felt that the region is too steep and hilly.
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