The Ministry of Transport, Cycling Federation and Institute of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL) has launched an aggressive programme to popularize cycling among the public to use it as an alternative for short trips rather than using motor vehicles.
The newly formed ‘Ride for Life’ too has joined this programme and as its first step will be launching a ‘cycle parade’ at 8 a.m. on July 1 from the IESL headquarters at Malalasekera Mawatha, Colombo 7 to Peliyagoda town.
“Over 300 cyclists will be participating in this event and we invite the public also to join in to send out a strong signal to discourage the use of motor vehicles for short tips,” a spokesman said.
The spokesman said that citizens must remember that each time a key is ignited in a motor vehicle, dollars drain out from Sri Lanka and the best way to reduce it is to use bicycles for short distances for errands like buying bread, essentials and even going to school, classes or sports practices.” He said this type of programme is very popular in the North as over 40% of the population uses push bicycles for their day to day use thus saving millions of rupees needed for the import of fuel. The Government on its part also must ensure the safety of cyclists by designating bicycle lanes and taking other road safety measures with the assistance of the Police. Minister Bandula Gunawardane is working towards this programme. He disclosed that currently there are around 2.1 million bicycles in Sri Lanka. (SS)
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