Cochin Smart Mission Limited in an attempt to make the city more cyclist friendly has decided to invite suggestions from the general public. CSML is doing the initiative as part of the Indian Cycles 4 Change Challenge. CSML is participating in this challenge to represent Kochi to create infrastructural facilities, safe and cycling-friendly roads. These cycle lanes and cycles may enact the last mile connectivity to the non-motorized transport system. To ensure this transformation
Kochi is one of the 95 cities to have registered for the India Cycles4Change Challenge, an initiative of Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. The India Programme of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) is the knowledge partner of the Smart Cities Mission in conducting this challenge and guiding cities through it.
Kochi, the business capital of Kerala, is indeed a hub of tourism and a growing urban agglomerate. Smart Cities Mission Kochi is beckoning both tourists and residents of Kochi to the unexplored possibilities of Cycling. Kochi is gearing up to participate in the Cycling4Change (C4C) challenge. The lifestyle changes from machine to pedal will greatly enhance the health of the citizens and reduce the carbon footprint for a greener tomorrow. In order to address the hurdles in embracing Cycling as an alternative mode of transport, this initiative intends to usher urban planning in the right direction. It is essential that the People of Kochi join hands in order to win this challenge. Please share your ideas and suggestions to make your city a place for hassle free and comfort travel.
Alkesh Kumar Sharma, IAS, CEO, Cochin Smart Mission Limited
The India Cycles4Change Challenge
The India Cycles4Change Challenge was announced on 25th June, by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge), MoHUA at the 5th Anniversary Celebrations of the Smart City Mission. It aims to inspire and support the cities to implement quick cycling-friendly initiatives in response to COVID-19. The Challenge will run in two stages. Stage 1 will run until October, where cities will pilot initiatives such as pop-up cycle lanes, host public consultations, conduct surveys, and hold campaigns to promote cycling, which will help develop a scale-up strategy. Based on the pilots and city-wide proposals submitted, 11 cities will be shortlisted in October for Stage 2. In this stage, they will be awarded Rs. 1 Crore and will be guided by national and international experts to scale-up the initiatives. This stage will extend till May 2021.
During the course of the Challenge, cities will be guided through online workshops, technical knowledge material, and peer-to-peer learning discussions with fellow cities. This will help cities to strategize and implement pilots, while also developing their scale-up proposal.
Support Kochi
Citizen collaboration is a key metric in the evaluation of proposals submitted by the cities. To assist the city in this aspect, the Challenge has launched an online portal which features a page exclusively for this purpose titled ‘Support your city’. By filling the form, interested citizens, civil society organisations (CSOs), students, consultants, and corporates can express their interest in working with the city for the Challenge. Interested citizens can support through the following ways –
● Plan and design cycling initiatives
● Coordinate the roll-out of the programme
● Organise consultations with citizens
● Mobilize volunteers for the initiatives
● Be a volunteer for the initiatives
● Spread the word through social networks
● Document through photos, videos, and blogs
● Monitor or evaluate the impact of initiatives
● Sponsor or bring in sponsors
Using this portal, Kochi will review the entries and form a diverse team that will support in developing and implementing initiatives. You can submit your entries here
Kochi has already attended Workshop 1 of the Challenge, that focused on the technical, community engagement, and communications components of cycling initiatives. Over the next few weeks, the city will roll out a survey to understand citizens’ perception of cycling. The survey aims to identify barriers to cycling in Kochi and inform the design process. The city urges all Civil Society Organisations, consultants, corporates or concerned citizens to support your city in the India Cycles4Change Challenge by registering using the link
