[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I have not been so drastic......

There's no one size fits all solution, and weaning yourself off gradually will probably be a smoother transition than making drastic changes in one fell swoop. Cheers for the effort, every little bit counts

[bblost]

Fantastic.

Its my strong belief that everyone must avoid the use of personal vehicles at-least once or twice a week.
Especially if they are living less than 5 kms from office, its downright crazy for able bodied people to depend on motorized transport.
I would go so far as to say its a sin against the environment.

As you can see, this is something I feel very strongly about.

I live about 17 kms from office. The year 2015 was the worst in terms of my commute. A minor fracture and then a case of suspected spondylitis forced me to use the car a lot more than necessary.

Otherwise I prefer my trusted cycle at-least twice a week.

My commute timings:
Car: 25 mins.
Bike: 20 mins.
Cycle: 50 mins.

But I am also very lucky. My office has a shower and locker facility.
I also have no fixed work timings.

I think nothing better shows the absurdity of our traffic system than this picture I took last month:


Some Tips:
1. Log your office commutes by cycle or walking. I use dailymile. But there are many other such apps available.
2. Take care of hydration.
3. Don't over estimate your calories being burnt and never underestimate the calories you are eating. Its very easy to do the opposite of this.
4. Summer is a little tough. LITTLE tough. That is the key here. I take a small 2 min break under a bridge at a half way point when I cycle to office in May. That is temperatures of 43 degrees.
5. Don't think you have to leave early and all that stuff. I leave for office at 10 AM and reach at 11 AM during peak heat. You body is quite resilient. Challenge it and have fun.

[sreeharipv]

for the initiative and happy for the changing mindset.

I had bought an expensive cycle two years ago thinking that's a wise investment. I thought to myself that I'm saving on my workout and fuel bills and thus it would pay for itself in a few months.

But then reality struck me. It's very unsafe to be on a cycle on the main streets because of your limited acceleration and braking capabilities. I've had many instances when somebody will cut in and brake and i'll be skiding all over the place which sometimes ended in a quick embrace with the tarmac.

Then I tried buses. Reality struck again. Bus drivers (in Hyderabad) do not believe in stopping the bus at all. I got really pissed when I was asked to jump out of a bus running in the middle lane. I also realized that there is no bus stop in front of my gated community (only!!!) on the way back from work.

Add to that, it's really unsafe to cross some of the streets during the commute hours due to the never pausing traffic, not to mention the lack of side walks and the 'cool bikers' on some of the rare ones.

I think the city bus service need an overhaul before the not so high spirited crowd (which I sense is large enough to make a difference) makes a move!

[poised2drive]

And finally, I made it.

The whole week [ of course, it was a short week], I used only Bus from home and I have this particular sense of happiness wherein I see myself contributing a little to Ecology.

I started a bit early and walked a kilometer or so to catch the bus which had decent crowd. I hope this continues.

Originally Posted by sreeharipv

I think the city bus service need an overhaul before the not so high spirited crowd (which I sense is large enough to make a difference) makes a move!

Where do you stay and where's your office ?

It is sad to know that you shunned the idea of cycling and I absolutely sympathize with you. The roads of our city that are absolutely unfriendly to all non-motorized vehicles.

[sreeharipv]

Hi,

I stay at Malaysian Township and work at Raheja Mindspace, Hitech City.

If you are around there in the evening rush hour, try crossing the road in front of the Mindspace gate. Good luck!

[Dieseltuned]

Update :: Month 2 Week 2 ::

My initiative is now in its second month, the no car week for Feb 2016 concluded on Friday 19th Feb 2016. Follwed the same rules, no car all week, used office and public transportations. I hope I am able to keep my new year resolution for the whole year.

Regards
Dieseltuned

[bblost]

Originally Posted by sreeharipv

Hi,

I stay at Malaysian Township and work at Raheja Mindspace, Hitech City.

If you are around there in the evening rush hour, try crossing the road in front of the Mindspace gate. Good luck!

I used to work at Raheja Mindspace back in 2005. Those days it was still under construction. But this path used to be open.

I used to take my bike thru the dirt road.
You can try exploring this option. I have no idea how this route is today.




I live near APPA Junction and try and commute to work (behind Cyber Gateway) at least twice a week.

[bblost]

I am not a recreational cyclist. I am a cycle commuter.

All but one of these trips was a evening pleasure ride.

Numbers are kms.

Home-Office is about 18 kms (one way).

I try and do at least 2 days a week. January low numbers are because I was travelling for most of the month.

[bblost]

I just hit my highest numbers for March.
Again all these kms are my commute between home and office.



My car takes 30 mins for both to-from trips. My cycle however takes 55 and 45 mins for onward and return journeys.

I hope I am able to maintain my numbers. I want to do a minimum of 400 kms every month in 2016 except June(Ramzan, when I can't cycle as I will be Fasting).

[Dieseltuned]

@bblost,

Those are some amazing numbers you are running. My 'no car week' for March was the week from 21st to 25th March 2016. Did not use my car for this week and used the public transport.

regards
Dieseltuned

[Deepak Ramana]

its really amazing to see a post in team-bhp, discouraging the daily usage of our lovely cars, put out in such a positive manner and most importantly, a convincing manner! i travel 26km one way to college 6 days a week. i used to do so on my civic (recently bought a renault pulse RXZ diesel) and i used to spend 2500rs on fuel every 5 trips. I can totally relate to this article. Thank you dieseltuned for giving me the will to make a slight change to my daily commute options for a better, brighter future

[Dieseltuned]

Hi all, UPDATE :: 4th Month :: April 2016

I am happy i am able to keep up on my resolution, Completed the 'No Car week' for the 4th consecutive month :: April'16. Did not take the car to work from 11th April to 15th April 2016. Used Office transport and BEST buses instead.

Regards
Dieseltuned

[pganapathy]

I would love to say that I can do this but it is impractical for me at present. My office is 15 km away and thus cycling distance is not a problem (don't have a bicycle yet but that is a separate issue). The problem is my shift timing. I leave the office at 0130 and that is not a good time to be on the road on a bicycle. With my type of work, changing my shift is also not an option.
Using public transport also does not work as it is a nightmare for me to get home at that hour (everything seems to close down in Bangalore around 11pm) except for a few routes that have buses plying.
My only alternative is using my office cab. Am trying to see if that is a viable alternative but the problem with this is the time I lose. At least one hour loss in the afternoon on my way to work and at least half an hour to one hour loss on the way back at night. I have tried the cabs and this has been my experience. Another problem is the lack of flexibility with using cabs. I have to be home at a fixed time to take the cab.
Also, there are no people I have found from my area to work where I do and have a similar shift to mine to car-pool, which I am still trying to do.
Anyway, the goal is to eventually figure out a way to not use my car or to car-pool so that between two people we only use one car.
My current bit for the environment is that I walk within a distance of about 1 to 2 km of the house for any work, unless it is impractical (shopping so have lots of stuff to bring back for example)

[Acharya]

Well, I am hooked on to carpooling for last 5-6 months.
My commute is 25 km one way on dreaded ORR in Blr.
Started with one fellow resident in my Apt, sharing ride once a week. Now one more resident joined us since this Feb, as a result I end up driving just 1 or 2 day in a week.
Thats at least 15 liter of diesel saved every week.
While going to office is always easy as we can start at the same time, returning is a challenge sometime due to different office schedule. In such situations I enjoy volvo ride which is quite good here.
All in all, carpooling is just great, if you are little flexible😃

[ramzsys]

I now live in a rural place, but in the past whenever i thought about taking the BMTC instead of the car, i worry about the fumes from the automobiles that i have to inhale in case i get a non-AC bus. Imagine spending a 30 minutes in a bus at the silk board.

Maybe better to buy a mask: http://aqicn.org/mask/