India’s First Bicycle Mayor

Bicycle Mayor, have you heard the word before? Who do you think the first Bicycle Mayor of the country? Do you want to know more about it and the person?

Nikita Lalwani from Baroda is the country’s first Bicycle Mayor.

She is given the title and appointed as Bicycle Mayor due to her constant efforts in motivating people to use bicycle as mode of transport.

Nikita is an instrumentation engineer by profession. She decided to use cycle for work three years ago for a distance of four kilometers.

Initially, she had tried all other means of transportation like auto rickshaws, scooty and even a car.

At last, she decided to use bicycle for her journey which not just saved her commuting time but also money.

Earlier, she used to wait in hefty traffic jams while using other vehicles. Using a bicycle is simple way to commute. Furthermore, it is an eco-friendly mode of transport.

She then founded Cycling Cities to motivate others to use bicycles for their travel.

Their first event was arranged at the opening of Decathlon Baroda.

Another event was held in Rohini, Delhi. Their events are like games that include pedal power, smart commute etc.

India’s First Bicycle Mayor

She initiated another project in 2016 named TRING which is acronym for ‘Try Cycling’.

Under this project, cycles are provided with helmets to those are interested in cycling. In addition to that, guidance and initial support rides were offered by her team.

Baroda by Cycle is another initiative. It was launched in the month of April, this year. Under this programme, a series of guided tours are curated around the city by heritage experts.

Being the first Bicycle Mayor, Nikita has been invited to the Bicycle Mayor Summit which will be held in Amsterdam in June. She will also participate in a global cycling conference in Velo-City 2017.

Thus, Nikita is constantly trying to create awareness on using bicycles and motivating people to use them. That’s why she became India’s first Bicycle Mayor.

Image Reference: TheBetterIndia