Do busy roads put off cyclists with disabilities, women or older
people? And if so, could local authorities be made to improve cycle
infrastructure under equality legislation?
It’s fair to say that,
for all the government promises of a “cycling revolution”, not a vast amount
has happened in recent years to improve the lot of cyclists on Indian roads.
Campaigns, pestering MPs, direct action – nothing seems to have worked.
So how about just
taking legal action under equalities legislation, forcing local authorities to
provide proper cycle infrastructure?
OK, it’s probably not
going to happen soon, even if you could find somebody rich and patient enough
to fund a fairly speculative test case.
Handicapped Tricycle
But the idea, is
nonetheless fascinating as it highlights one of the lesser-aired arguments for
a more cycle- and walking-friendly world: the issue of social justice.
Numerous other studies
on “environmental inequality” have noted that poorer people, who own the fewest
cars, often live by the busiest roads.
An extension to this
is the idea that the forms of transport arguably most accessible to all income
groups – walking and cycling – are the ones least catered for by public
infrastructure.
Writing on the issue, these
inequalities also take in, while in countries like the Netherlands about
as many women as men get about by bike, in England a fairly macho cycling
culture, which often necessitates mixing it with fast-moving cars, partly explains
why little more than a quarter of bike commuters are female.
This is often an
ignored area, but the statistics show that 5.1% of cycle commuters in India are
people whose day-to-day activities are limited in some way – that is to say they
have some form of disability. While this isn’t much below the total proportion
of commuters with disabilities, at 6.8%, there is a huge variation between
areas for bike commuting among those with disabilities, ranging from 0.2% to
25.9%.
