Cycle Chalao! A Happy and Economic, Environmentally Sustainable Initiative

Cycle! It reminds me of childhood. When I just started learning to cycle. It was such a fun time. When I got to know about Cycle Chalao, which is India’s leading bicycle sharing enterprise, I became very happy to know how good and effective transportation on a cycle can be for us and our surroundings! To name a few, it helps in curbing air and noise pollution, saves a non-renewable source of energy-fuel used in motor vehicles, is good for health, saves time and money and is a lot of FUN J. All this makes it a happy and GREEN activity.Green is the buzz word. For when we heal the earth we heal ourselves.

– Saumya Agrawal, Youth Leader India

Founders and awards

Raj Janagam and JuiGangan are the founders of Cycle Chalao. They were featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Outlook Business Magazines and have been acclaimed as social entrepreneurs and fellows at Unreasonable Institute, Unlimited India, Foundation for Youth in Social Entreprenuership and Pukar.

How did the idea originate?

Frustration over commuting in Mumbai traffic in an auto-rickshaw gave birth to the idea of Cycle Chalao. Just imagine the traffic if big three and four wheelers get replaced by a two wheeler which is also green.

How does Cycle Chalao function?

Pick up a bicycle from a drop point. Ride it till the same or some other drop point. The model needs to be implemented in other places as well beyond the gates of Kelkarcollegein Mumbai where it is currently functioning. Currently there are two drop points: The railway station and Kelkarcollege. To know more listen to an interview of Raj Janagam on TiffinTalk:

http://www.tiffintalk.org/Main/TiffinTalk_-_Home.html

Exploration. What fun!

A quote from a Hindustan Times article, Go on an Urban Adventure :

“The best way to explore Mumbai is on a cycle,” says Raj Janagam, co-founder of NGO Cycle Chalao. “The city plan is linear, unlike cities such as Delhi and Bangalore, which are centrifugal and therefore not cycle-friendly. My favourite places to cycle in Mumbai are Kala Ghoda, Marine Drive and Gorai.”

Exploration on a cycle is faster, easier and fun. GREEN too!No getting stuck in Mumbai traffic.

Cycle sharing can be successful in Mumbai.

Bylanes, make Mumbai ideal for biking. Gangan says to Time Out Mumbai in the article, “Cycling to Work”,

“We have already identified about 70 routes here where cycle sharing stands can be set up”.

Cycle Chalao has plans of expansion in Pune as well.

Raj Janagam tells us about top three CHALLENGES in Cycle Chalao Project

Permissions for parking spaces in a congested place in Mulund given by municipality,

Funds to establish the model as it is difficult to convince the funding agencies owing to absence of any such successful models to refer to,

Technology for the pilot scale which was not available in the market and very costly to build. Raj Janagam says, “We had to go manual using registers and paper ID cards which eventually helped us achieve just what we wanted.”

Few quotes about Cycle Chalao from their subscribers

Rashi Sachdeva - “Cycle Chalao! Campaign is good and am happy with them and their service. I like riding bicycles, it’s great that they are promoting bicycles in a way which is not only eco-friendly but also economical”

Sparsh- “Cycle Chalao! Campaign helped me and my group a lot!..People of Cycle Chalao were highly co-operative.. I had a very good experience and am extremely impressed with the management.. It’s good that people are promoting cycling as a mode of transport for short distances as it is a social and eco-friendly cause..also it is economical”

Swejal - “I subscribed to the service for not only the reasons of economic and eco-friendly but also because it’s fun riding bicycle and makes a lot of sense to travel this way in these days. I swiftly ride through traffic and actually reach my college early.. So take another round of my ride! Thanks Cycle Chalao Team!”

Be a part of this social, economic and healthy adventure

Do you want to be part of such a happy and green project? You can subscribe to the mailing list of Cycle Chalao. You can make a donation. You can contribute your time/expertise to this model. You can do it all at http://www.cyclechalao.com/join-us.html.

What more! You can extend it to your region too. Or if you love the idea of cycling, just start commuting on a cycle for shorter distances. It will help heal the earth and also heal us.

Enjoy your ride!

Links

Cycle Chalao Website: http://www.cyclechalao.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cyclechalao

Linkedln: http://www.linkedin.com/company/cycle-chalao-

Raj Janagam interview in TiffinTalk: http://www.tiffintalk.org/Main/TiffinTalk_-_Home.html

Presentation of Cycle Chalao: http://www.slideshare.net/HeadStart/cycle-chalao-presentation

Media Coverage:

http://www.thebetterindia.com/4172/cycle-chalao-mumbais-first-bike-sharing-system/

http://dowser.org/tracking-the-unreasonable-institute-fellows-cycle-chalao/

http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/bike-sharing-india-cycle-chalao.html

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/unreasonable-ideas-indian-solutions/#more-6049

Photo Courtesy:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclechalao/sets/72157627704930327/

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About the author

Saumya Agrawal: I am currently a home maker residing in New York City. I did my undergraduate studies at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in Mathematics and Computing and then pursued my graduate studies at New York University in Mathematics in Finance. In my childhood I wanted to do something different. In college I always wanted to contribute to India through some meaningful contributions. So here I am trying to make a positive change through writing about the achievements of a few people through Youth Leader Magazine, who are working to make the world a better place to live in. My interests include painting, cooking, programming, mathematics and finance.  Mail -> saumya.youthleader@gmail.com