Commuting to work in Mumbai is so tiresome that the very thought of it brings tears to the eyes. Haunting visions of being smothered to death in local trains, stuck forever on roads in traffic keep coming back to us. Which is why it comes as a pleasant surprise to hear of this 44-year-old woman from Juhu who commutes over 15 km, daily to her workplace at Dadar, using a bicycle.
Now this may seem like a pipe dream in India or something that only people in less-congested countries like the US and Europe do. But through the organisation she founded, Smart Commute, Firoza aims to get many others to follow suit and make Mumbai bicycle-friendly. She has already gathered many fellow enthusiasts and friends to take up this eco-friendly alternative.
“Cycling is my first choice for commuting and I try my best every day to use it for most of my errands and commute to work,” she says. “Also, I have deliberately chosen not to invest in any sort of vehicle, which pollutes the environment. So cycle is the only mode of transport, which is convenient for me as it takes me from Point A to Point B. Thank God for bicycles, I don’t get bogged down by traffic congestion or last mile connectivity issues.”
When it comes to getting others to take up this mode of transport, it isn’t lack of enthusiasts which is a problem, but the supporting infrastructure needed to make it work. “I am already witnessing a steady increase in the number of people who cycle to work and to college,” she shares. “But it is still far from being a lifestyle. There are many cycling enthusiasts today, but their cycling is limited to leisure or mass cycling events.”
With Smart Commute, Firoza has targeted the fence sitters who want to explore cycling as a mode of commute, but are put off by the lack of infrastructure to support it. But Firoza has tried working around it by sensiting HR and CSR heads in corporate firms to make it easier for people to cycle to work by giving them a dedicated parking lot, for starters, and even a shower stall, so they could freshen up before they begin work.
For many of us women, it seems like an idea fraught with difficulties, to ride cycles on crowded city roads, for fear of eve-teasing. But Firoza assures us that her experience has been positive so far. “It’s true that cyclists do find it difficult to make their way through the traffic in comparison to motorists and four wheelers. But you will be surprised to hear that I feel quite safe doing so in Mumbai. Not once have I faced eve-teasing from other motorists. In fact, they give me the thumbs-up when we halt at traffic signals. And that’s not teasing for sure! Also some of them actually stop me to commend on my effort and to exchange numbers to help them buy a bicycle.”
But when Firoza first began cycling to work back in the 80s, she neither had these options at work, nor she did she have any other choice of a commute. She learnt cycling the hard way too – by renting a bicycle at the rate of 50 paise per hour. She used the same rental bicycle everyday to run errands for her family, despite everybody’s disapproval. “Although my mom was supportive of my love for cycling, people around my locality would meet my parents and warn them about the ill-effects of cycling – primarily that I would never bear a child if I cycled excessively,” recalls Firoza. “But I did prove them wrong, because today I am a proud mother of a 13-year-old son- Ishaan and he too loves cycling to school!”
In fact, Firoza’s first cyclathon, a 15-km run and 30 km of cycling was accomplished using track pants and t-shirt three sizes too large, borrowed from her neighbour and a cycle borrowed from her newspaper vendor. It was only as a teenager that Firoza got her very first bicycle, one of her own.
”My first bicycle was a second hand one which was gifted by my uncle, who understood my passion as he too used to commute to work on a cycle,” she reminisces. “He realised back in the 80s that I am not giving up on cycles even considering the backlash from relatives and neighbourhood. The cycle didn’t have any name as it was painted all blue…. I didn’t bother finding the make. The joy of cycling on my second-hand cycle was far greater than investing time and money on the 50 paise rentals.”
With this cycle came opportunity. Firoza began giving tuitions to younger children in her area, cycling to everybody’s houses to augment her family’s income. Most of the money was handed to her mother for household expenses while the rest, Firoza saved for herself. It took a while for Firoza to save up enough to buy a new cycle, but by the time she had enrolled in college, she was the proud owner of a BSA Streetcat.
By this time, she had become famous as Mulund ki Cyclewali – possibly because she was the only girl in her late teens who was regularly spotted cycling in that area. She continued her passion for cycling through her early days as a marketing professional. But marriage, motherhood and focusing on her career meant that cycling took a backseat for some years.
She only resumed in 2010 with Salman Khan’s much publicised ‘Being Human Mumbai Cyclathon’ where she connected with professional cyclists and dealers. She was successfully running an ad agency, but her love for cycling prompted her to sell out and take up the post of a marketing consultant with a bicycle company.
Smart Commute was born and Firoza is now poised to expand it nationally. “I have collaborated with Copenhagen based iVATION consulting to help me develop the most innovative way to develop cycling as a culture in societies today and to reinvent the wheel. The CEO of iVATION, Jyoti Rai who is consulting with me has also taken up cycling now. I guess I must be doing a good job already as a woman cyclist – inspiring everybody who comes in contact with me,” she adds.
So what happened to the Mulund-ki-cyclewali, we wonder.
“She has now become Mumbai-ki-cyclewali,” says Firoza with a laugh, “and with a determined cause to get corporates to ditch their cars at least once a week and cycle to work. I just wish there was more support coming from the government. Officials keep talking about building smart cities and cycling is one of the most integral parts of the sustainable transport any city wishes to adopt.”
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