Fuel hike has citizens griping for a better drive!

Fuel hike has citizens griping for a better drive!
Vijay Times

Bangalore: It’s definitely going to be a re-invention of the wheel, but of a different kind.

With the price of petrol recording a hike of Rs 13.22 in just under two years and crossing the Rs 50 mark in Bangalore, don't be surprised to see the denizens of the Silicon Valley taking to the humble bicycle, a la the people in the dragon country, China.

The hike announced on Tuesday will squeeze the the monthly budgets of most households and has people already thinking about alternative modes of transport, especially to travel short distances.

Vijay Times spoke to several people and this is what they had to say about the hike:

Cycling is one option that is open to all says, Madhav Rao N, “and it brings back old memories.” This 42-year-old, employee of a reputed bank says, it's a win-win situation to peddle all the way to your destination. “What do we have to lose except the extra flab. It is pollution-free, absolutely cost-effective and durable with little or no maintenance.”

Sulochana Shastri, a housewife and a mother of three, is already in the habit of riding to and from the local market on her bicycle. She recently bought a new one for her 12-year-old son and insists that he go to school on it.

The new-found love for the cycle among the people is a matter of joy for Srivatsa, manager at a bicycle outlet in Rajajinagar.

“Cycles have been more in the domain of children. But if adults are keen to join in, they are more than welcome,” he says, adding that in the next fortnight he expects a rise of 20 per cent in sales. Looks like the back-to-bicycle is now clearly more than just a fitness and green slogan.

That's not all. Taking to the good old public transport system in the true socialist style is another means Bangaloreans are looking at. As Susanne George of Cox Town, who works in a private insurance firm says, “After all city buses have been talked of for a long time, as solutions to reduce the density of cars and two-wheelers on the roads besides cutting down on pollution.”

Ranjan Aditya, who is into catering business says that it is time we considered concepts like car-pooling and sharing of autos (like in Chennai), to minimise the use of two-wheelers and cars.

Else, it will be a tighter rope walk for people from the middle class and the lower strata to balance their monthly bill.

The frequent hikes has triggered a more critical debate on the need for an effecient public transport system including an urgent implementation of pending proposals like Metro rail project.

And the need for alternative fuels could not have been more pressing.