bike-vs-car-vs-transit

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Rushi Bhatt

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Jun 4, 2008, 11:58:08 AM6/4/08
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http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/bike-vs-car-vs-transit/

I wonder how bangalore fares. Anyone interested in doing a test?

Mallik

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Jun 4, 2008, 12:59:50 PM6/4/08
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very nice video. well in peak hours of Bangalore traffic, bike will
take half the time of car to commute on any given road I guess.

Ravi Ranjan

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Jun 4, 2008, 11:17:40 PM6/4/08
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Your guessing part o accurate Mallik.
I experiance it every day :-)
~ Ravi

 
--
  0                             0
00 Ravi Ranjan Kumar 00
  0                             0

Mayank Rungta

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Jun 4, 2008, 11:44:07 PM6/4/08
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During Rush hour I have at least managed to keep up to the time I take on bike. I cycled from Kormangala (Forum) to Cunnnigham Road in 30 minutes around and it wudn't take less than 40 minutes at the time on a bike. Four wheeler toh will suck I m sure! ;)

Das had told he takes about as much time or less for the commute to his office. I think that was long back. If he did it now there shall be a remarkable difference! :)

Jagannath Moorthy

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Jun 5, 2008, 4:43:56 AM6/5/08
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It takes me the same time, whether by bike or motorcycle. The time that you lose on the open stretches can easily be made up at the signals or in the jam. This is on the ORR, mind you, the cycle will be much faster in the city.

Rushi Bhatt

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Jun 5, 2008, 5:02:57 AM6/5/08
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Anyone interested in doing a test?

nilesh dhumal

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Jun 5, 2008, 12:17:23 PM6/5/08
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i am in on my bmx ill be fast hahah but ill be all over the place RAD style.

Pradeep B V

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Jun 5, 2008, 1:23:30 PM6/5/08
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I can volunteer to do the transit part. (I am new to biking and would like to let some pro to bike to glory).

The other question is who is going to film this?

I think that we should talk to the filmcamp.tv folks.

What say?

- P
--
Pradeep B V
Mapunity: Geography for development
www.mapunity.in

Rohan Kini

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Jun 6, 2008, 10:22:37 PM6/6/08
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Hey Pradeep, welcome to the forum. I didnt know you were on this ! :)

Rushi - I wanted to install a helmet cam and ride on the bike and the motorbike to point out a few things
- safety aspect (why bicycle can be safer than a motorbike)
- faster aspect (how most times reaching on the bike is faster than on the motorbike)
- fun aspect of things (imagine you jumping and hopping on your bike while commuting vis-a-vis you stuck in traffic on the motorbike)
- maybe other aspects :)

Im up for it. On the bike of course :)

Who is driving and who is taping ?
http://filmcamp.tv/ looks like its down. What do they do ?
--
~ ROhan
@http://rohan-kini.livejournal.com
$ http://bumsonthesaddle.com/

Mallik

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Jun 6, 2008, 11:51:13 PM6/6/08
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Rushi, How about doing a short film with some theme and fun element?
that way we can get few short film makers also to shoot.

On Jun 7, 7:22 am, "Rohan Kini" <rohan.k...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey Pradeep, welcome to the forum. I didnt know you were on this ! :)
>
> Rushi - I wanted to install a helmet cam and ride on the bike and the
> motorbike to point out a few things
> - safety aspect (why bicycle can be safer than a motorbike)
> - faster aspect (how most times reaching on the bike is faster than on the
> motorbike)
> - fun aspect of things (imagine you jumping and hopping on your bike while
> commuting vis-a-vis you stuck in traffic on the motorbike)
> - maybe other aspects :)
>
> Im up for it. On the bike of course :)
>
> Who is driving and who is taping ?http://filmcamp.tv/looks like its down. What do they do ?
>
> On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 10:53 PM, Pradeep B V <pradee...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > I can volunteer to do the transit part. (I am new to biking and would like
> > to let some pro to bike to glory).
>
> > The other question is who is going to film this?
>
> > I think that we should talk to the filmcamp.tv folks.
>
> > What say?
>
> > - P
>
> > On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 2:32 PM, Rushi Bhatt <rushib...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> Anyone interested in doing a test?
>

Mayank Rungta

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Jun 7, 2008, 12:17:12 AM6/7/08
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I am doing a film making cousre this fortnight with the ACTor group starting today 'hopefully'. We would be required to do a short film and I had promoting cycling in mind - not exactly this test. Was intending to shoot the whole thing from the bike titled - "The world as I see it...". U see people smiling at u when u smiling, people sweating out in gym and on their way to car looking at our cycles wondering, people gradually realizing the worth of this very modest invention and 'converting'. I have found the process pretty painful - speaking to people about their own health n failing miserably most of the time. Films are a powerful medium.

A biker from Chennai - Karthik pinged me telling that he takes 15 mins on bike as against 40 mins in car. I think we have ample proof for the test. A video on the same wud be really cool! :) Let's do this.

We need such films for our screenings with NGO Post in any case so we can get all the help needed - even if it means getting not so amateur film makers! ;)

Highly inspired by Jeff Skolls talk on the subject -
http://ngopost.org/story.php?title=Making_films_to_make_change_Jeff_Skoll_on_TED-com
Let me know if anybody is game... :)

Deepak Majipatil

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Jun 7, 2008, 12:30:09 AM6/7/08
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hi all,
 
Have any one worked on this idea?
 
I have a relative of mine who directs documentaries for Govt &pvt organizations abt
lots of awareness programs.
 
 
Deepak

Rushi Bhatt

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Jun 7, 2008, 3:18:19 AM6/7/08
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Hi all,

Excellent.

So far:

1. Celine (she's more of an Indian driver than I am) + I in the car
2. Pradeep: Transit (do you speak Kannada? It'll be good to chat up
people on transit to get their view of the situation)
3. We need a rickshaw rider.
4. Rohan, Nelli, and whoever else on bicycle
5. Need a motorbike (Jagan?)

Filming/technical:

Deepak's relative: Technical editor, script, whatever.
Mayank: cameraman + editor + technical + whatever

We need:

0. Route. When, how long, where, etc.
1. Cameramen: I can cover our car. Need some people to follow cyclists
(apart from the helmet cam. How many such cams can we get?)
2. Editing equipment. I hope Deepak/Mayank will have access to this.
3. Some publicity once we're ready for release. I think there are
plenty of bloggers around. Need some traditional media too. Any
takers?

Thanks,
Rushi

Pradeep B V

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Jun 7, 2008, 3:22:15 AM6/7/08
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On Sat, Jun 7, 2008 at 7:52 AM, Rohan Kini <rohan...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey Pradeep, welcome to the forum. I didnt know you were on this ! :)

Just got in day before yesterday. I bought a new bike and though of
connecting up with other bikers. So here I am.

> Who is driving and who is taping ?
> http://filmcamp.tv/ looks like its down.

You can try http://www.filmcamp.tv

> What do they do ?

http://www.filmcamp.tv/FilmCamp.TV/About_FilmCamp.TV.html

Pradeep B V

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Jun 7, 2008, 3:47:36 AM6/7/08
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On Sat, Jun 7, 2008 at 12:48 PM, Rushi Bhatt <rush...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 2. Pradeep: Transit (do you speak Kannada? It'll be good to chat up people on transit to get their view of the situation)

Houdu swami houdu.

> 0. Route. When, how long, where, etc.

Few suggestions:

Shorter rides:

1. Vidhana soudha to Forum
2. K R Market to Mayo Hall (Bangalore Central)
3. Lalbagh to Cantonment
4. Richmond Circle to Dairy Circle


Longer Rides:

1. Vijayanagar to Indiranagar
2. Hebbal to J P Nagar.


Timing:

I think that we should choose a peak transit times: 8.30 am to 10.00
am or 6.00 pm to 7.30pm on any weekday.

> Need some traditional media too. Any takers?

Know a friend who has contacts with some print media.. will ping him
once the plans are finalized.

- P

Pradeep B V

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Jun 7, 2008, 3:50:43 AM6/7/08
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On Sat, Jun 7, 2008 at 12:48 PM, Rushi Bhatt <rush...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 1. Celine (she's more of an Indian driver than I am) + I in the car
> 2. Pradeep: Transit (do you speak Kannada? It'll be good to chat up
> people on transit to get their view of the situation)
> 3. We need a rickshaw rider.
> 4. Rohan, Nelli, and whoever else on bicycle
> 5. Need a motorbike (Jagan?)

We also need to add Carpool as another mode and promote the same. It
will be person A start from origin of the transit and on the way
picks up person B and person C and drops person C midway and takes
person B all the way to the destination. (Vipul, Commuteeasy?)

- P

Deepak Majipatil

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Jun 7, 2008, 5:47:21 AM6/7/08
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well if you can discuss in the http://www.bikeszone.com/forum/
 
then there would be more people contributingto the ideas.
 
So can someone post the same there?
 

Pradeep B V

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Jun 7, 2008, 6:13:35 AM6/7/08
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On Sat, Jun 7, 2008 at 3:17 PM, Deepak Majipatil
<deepakm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> well if you can discuss in the http://www.bikeszone.com/forum/
>
> then there would be more people contributingto the ideas.
>
> So can someone post the same there?

Done.

http://www.bikeszone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1078

- P

Rohan Kini

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Jun 7, 2008, 6:46:01 AM6/7/08
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yup. I can ask Vipul to chip in :)

Rohan Kini

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Jun 7, 2008, 6:48:38 AM6/7/08
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I can conver the bike angle :)
Have a helmet cam or a bike cam .. Need to test ride this and make sure it works out well !!!
That way if there are two bikers - Nilesh and myself I can cover him biking  too :)

ooohh .. I am so excited about this ..
reminds me of the NY Bike messengers - http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=au0Zjn3eB9k

have posted this out blog too - http://blog.bumsonthesaddle.com/2008/6/7/bike-commute-fastest

Pradeep B V

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Jun 7, 2008, 7:10:43 AM6/7/08
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On Sat, Jun 7, 2008 at 4:18 PM, Rohan Kini <rohan...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I can conver the bike angle :)
> Have a helmet cam or a bike cam .. Need to test ride this and make sure it
> works out well !!!

If we can't get hold of enough Helmet Cams then we can work with a
Nokia Cameraphone with Qik installed on it.

Qik streams video from the mobile phone camera in realtime over
GPRS/wifi so that people can watch the ride live!

I have done one such streaming/recording recently over BSNL GPRS from
my Nokia E61i.

The video can be found here http://qik.com/video/63510 (please skip
the first 30 secs in the video as I was still trying to come to terms
with holding the phone and accelerating my motorbike).

- P

Rohan Kini

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Jun 7, 2008, 7:15:12 AM6/7/08
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niiice !!!!

Jagannath Moorthy

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Jun 7, 2008, 10:24:05 PM6/7/08
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I would have more fun on a cycle, but in the interest of science:-), I will ride the bike. Since a large part of our audience will be techies, we could consider doing a whitefield-Jaynagar along ORR.

Rohan Kini

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Jun 8, 2008, 12:17:51 AM6/8/08
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Howabout Whitefield Jayanagar ..
the route is up to the individuals ... I can take some nice shortcuts that guys on cars cannot even dream about :D

Pradeep B V

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Jun 8, 2008, 12:35:23 AM6/8/08
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On Sun, Jun 8, 2008 at 9:47 AM, Rohan Kini <rohan...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Howabout Whitefield Jayanagar ..
> the route is up to the individuals ... I can take some nice shortcuts that
> guys on cars cannot even dream about :D

We need to have a common route if we were to do comparisons (time,
cost, nature(carbon footprint)).

We can elicit a few more suggestions and then go for a poll to decide
which one to choose.

It may also make sense to figure out whether we can get some
sponsorships for the ride as that will help cover some PR costs.

Obviously the idea is get more people to start biking and the best way
to do that is to shwocase that "biking is the fastest way to office"
in as many media out lets as possible (TV, Radio, Print, Web).

Sponsorships also mean participation from the sponsoring organization.
We can also ask them to get their employees involved.

Ans sponsorships need not mean any money but just some effort in
spreading the message through their PR channels. Thats all.

What do you ppl think?

- P

Dasarathi

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Jun 8, 2008, 1:38:07 AM6/8/08
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If you want to weight the whole thing in favour of the bicycle, the race must be door-to-door.

The route should be something like this:
1. Start from a locality about 6 km. from MG Rd.
2. Ensure that there are traffic signals every 0.5 km. along the way.
3. The destination is a building that has no parking next to it, like the Spencer's building.
4. The race starts at 9:30 AM, peak traffic hour, on a working day.

The cycle will definitely be faster in the inner areas of the city, but Whitefield - Jayanagar along ORR a car or motorbike would be faster.

See the details of New York race that started this discussion. Distance is 4.5 km. The car driver spent time searching for parking at his destination.


What happens in the core areas of the city is this:
1. There's a traffic signal every 0.5 km. The car and the bike start from each traffic signal at the same time. The car reaches each signal faster than the bike, then waits at the signal for between 1 to 3 minutes and so does the bike.

I see this happening every day, the same bunch of vehicles next to me at every traffic intersection. My  home is in Sadashivanagar and office in Jayanagar, so I cycle right through the centre of the city, through the worst traffic.
2. At the destination, the car must be parked at least 0.5 km. away from the destination. At normal walking speed this would take 5 minutes. If you need to search for a parking place in 2 or 3 places, then it's even longer. The bicycle on the other hand would park right next to the destination. If there's a long walk at the source AND destination for the car driver, then the bicycle is even faster.

Worst case scenario for a car is something like City Market to Majestic, or Vittal Mallya Rd. to Commercial St. Parking problems for the car at either end, driver walks a good bit.

How about doing a trial run, and if the bicycle wins (Heh, heh !), we stage another race and invite the press (papers, TV) to cover it ?

Das


Pradeep B V

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Jun 8, 2008, 2:24:38 AM6/8/08
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On Sun, Jun 8, 2008 at 11:08 AM, Dasarathi <d...@cadem.com> wrote:
> If you want to weight the whole thing in favour of the bicycle, the race
> must be door-to-door.

I don't agree with the weighing in favor of any mode. It just has to be real.

If we go the favouring way the motorists will natually ask for a race
to the Devanahalli Airport from M G road.

What we should look for instead is to get 4-6 points around the city
and ride to M G Road. (which is most peoples eyes is a well known
workplace).

May I suggest

Rajajinagar - M G road
Vijayanagar - M G road
Hebbal - M G Road
Indiranagar - M G Road
BTM - M G road
J P Nagar - M G Road

> How about doing a trial run, and if the bicycle wins (Heh, heh !), we stage
> another race and invite the press (papers, TV) to cover it ?

Test ride is a good idea but it need time. Prep time, ride time and I
am not sure if woungh people will be able to try this out on a work
day. (cuz thats what we want to time i.e ride during peak traffic).

Instead we can ask some of the regualrs about their travel times on
some of these roads during peak times. (9.30am).

I have heard/read many of them and all of them say they are usually
faster than car/bus. Motorbike is one thing that we will have to
lookout for.

- P

Rohan Kini

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Jun 8, 2008, 5:49:24 AM6/8/08
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I agree on the not weighing in factor ..
if the motor bike wins .. so be it ..  But its not just the time that matters .. its also the fuel and pollution factor which will win bikers a few brownie points which can offset a few minutes ;)

But yeah .. at the same time it does make sense to have a realistic scenario with a bunch of signals and no long open stretch where a motorized vehicle has obvious advantage.

If there are a bunch of us heading the same way to work we can do a trial .. no need of extensive Prep.
I go from Jayanagar to Airport road .. so if anyone is on this same path we can do a test ride.

About the sponserships .. Would be nice if we think of them only to propogate this rather than start thinkkng about T Shirts, snacks etc etc which will require a bit of planning and is a waste of time IMO :) Just get a bunch of guys on differnt modes of trasnport and lets see how it goes ..
If its shot and edited well we can pass on the videos and it will get coverage.

Rushi Bhatt

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Jun 8, 2008, 8:22:54 AM6/8/08
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I agree with Rohan. We don't want to stack the cards in anyone's
favor. There's also the obvious economic side of things; fuel, tire,
oil change, new cassette and chain :)

I also agree with Rohan on the short-cuts/back alleys part. If one has
access to short-cuts or whatever, they should be taken. If a car or a
bus cannot take routes that a bike or a motorbike can take, so be it.
This is about daily commute times, and it is reasonable to expect that
the commuter has scoped out the route well.

Thanks,
Rushi

Mayank Rungta

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Jun 8, 2008, 8:55:48 AM6/8/08
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How about doing a trial run, and if the bicycle wins (Heh, heh !), we stage another race and invite the press (papers, TV) to cover it ?

If we get the press (preferably TV) to cover this it would be live action and very very effective. We wouldn't have to bother shooting with regular stuff - it wud be done rather professionally. I think if anybody has media contact please ping them now... :)

Balu

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Jun 8, 2008, 11:47:38 PM6/8/08
to Bangalore Bikers Club
As Rohan said just do this a couple of times and if possible record it
- if the video is sliced and diced well (something I cant even dream
of doing !) it'll call attention to itself. I feel it would be
extremely difficult to get media to cover this event as it would mean
a fairly long and intricate logistic exercise with multiple cameras
and crew. Maybe once a "home-video" attracts some attention a live
race can be held...

Btw I will participate any which way I can - I have a 25km commute
(j'nagar to kr.puram) which I do on bus. I'll record the time taken in
the morn and eve for the rest of the week - mebbe next week I can do
this on a cycle and compare the times...
And also the times should be measured door to door - One interesting
aspect is if you ride to work and take a shower do you factor the
shower/change time? Of course a dude driving or taking the bus might
shower once a day but a cyclist riding a longish distance would shower
twice - hence if required one can get overly anal and factor in the
"extra" water/time spent :)

Jokes aside it would be a very interesting experiment and I'm not sure
who will win!

Balu

Ravi Ranjan

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Jun 8, 2008, 11:54:39 PM6/8/08
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Hey Balu,
The shower i dont agree to,
As while going to office you can always take the shower @ office rather than taking shower at office and then doing it again at office after the ride.
~ Ravi

 

Rohan Kini

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Jun 8, 2008, 11:58:06 PM6/8/08
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or maybe not have a shower at all ;) Hehe

Rohan Kini

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Jun 9, 2008, 12:02:23 AM6/9/08
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Agreed.

I have done some slicing n dicing for a documentary before. So Im ok at this. Its time consuming though :)
Lets do a home video.. Should be fun :)

So whats the plan ?
a week of riding around and gathering data ? Maybe a finale the next week ?
any nice routes ? Something that will take maybe 45mins to an hour by bicycle (around 20 kms?)

vinay shah

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Jun 9, 2008, 12:04:06 AM6/9/08
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Hello,
 
If needed I can help in video Editing.
 
Regards
- Vinay

 
On 6/9/08, Balu <balu.ra...@gmail.com> wrote:

Shree Kumar

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Jun 9, 2008, 12:06:09 AM6/9/08
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Guys,

I am not sure if you guys have thought about this - but if you ride a bit slower (giving a personal example - I do this everyday), then you probably don't need a shower :-) But then you'll lose the race ;-)

To put on a sceptic hat ( I can be a mean motorbike rider too :-) ), I'm not sure why you guys think that a motorcycle will lose here. They can break as many rules here as a cyclist can - they can sneak in in most places a cyclist can. Unless you plan to take a one way opposite ;-)

If you want to win, make sure you choose roads
  1. where the motorbike rider cannot climb up the footpaths :-)
  2. take reasonable advantages of one way rules
  3. Choose traffic intersections which have police presence :-)

-- Shree

Rushi Bhatt

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Jun 9, 2008, 12:08:05 AM6/9/08
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> shower/change time? Of course a dude driving or taking the bus might
> shower once a day but a cyclist riding a longish distance would shower
> twice - hence if required one can get overly anal and factor in the
> "extra" water/time spent :)

Just sit there and stink. Colleagues be damned. Traveling by bus makes
me feel like taking shower more than when I bike. I'd much rather
smell my own BO than someone else's.

Rohan Kini

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Jun 9, 2008, 12:16:08 AM6/9/08
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yeah .. going slow is an option :) But then its so much fun when you are going faster than slow moving traffic ! Jumping over potholes n speed breakers ;) carefully of course.

I dont think a motorcycle will lose or something ! In fact its more likely to win.

Balu

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Jun 9, 2008, 12:24:53 AM6/9/08
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He he - well actually the bus I ride in is an AC thingy and rather
comfy with about 20 folks (seating cap = 45) at any give point of
time.

But of course it depends on the rider - some folks sweat and some
dont! I personally need a shower after 30mins of (average speed -
17kmph) riding.

Ravi - if you need a shower, you'd generally need 2 showers - one when
you get to work and another when you get back home. Now of course if
you are the sorta guy who showers twice a day anyways.... !

Ok so I start recording bus commute times and number of folks on bus
for the rest of the week.

Jagannath Moorthy

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Jun 9, 2008, 1:40:16 AM6/9/08
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I think we need to set some ground rules like
- obey all traffic rules
- no jumping signals
- no riding on footpath
Imo it will be a tough ask to beat a motorcycle unless you include the
parking time as well

Rohan Kini

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Jun 9, 2008, 1:43:31 AM6/9/08
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+1 fr trying to follow rules. Sensibly of course.

Jagannath Moorthy

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Jun 9, 2008, 1:46:08 AM6/9/08
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If we are using youtube, we dont need great equipment your average
digicam takes fairly decent video at vga resolution and we can use
something like windows movie maker (sorry rushi) to splice it up.

Mayank Rungta

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Jun 9, 2008, 2:15:49 AM6/9/08
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I think it is only fair to ride on the footpath. It's against the rules for motor bikes. In UK pedestrians and bikers were on the same track all along. In Bangalore there is no track for pedestrians - foot paths are missing at some places even on MG Road. There is no planning done for people to cross roads any where and all such places bikers have a tough time. Today morning it took me about 5-10 minutes to get across Museum Road such was the traffic since the schools have begun.

I think we can safely assume the rules followed in other countries. On junctions walking the cycle is possible. Again there is no single time when all pedestrians can cross (eg kormangala signal). People cross half way and then the other half. It's crazy yes and I think the biker should be getting the upper hand here... :) This includes going on the footpath along side one ways! :)

Shower time and parking time are secondary I think. Most offices I know have a parking space and finding for a bike is tough at times unless u find some place to fasten. I am sure the biker can still beat the person in a car - those in the company buses - all my sympathies for them! :D Motor bikes I think are really fast and carbon footprint per head wud be higher than a car pooled car but most people don't car pool so... My personal experience is that I was faster of cycle during certain hours and on certain routes. We can use such routes.

If the idea is to promote cycling I think a handy cam would give a video easy to upload and share like someone mentioned. I have asked help from Siddharth who is from IITM and moved into cinematography - facilitated our workshop! :)

Let's do this in a 2-3 weeks after proper practice/planning.

My 2 cents... :)

Subbu

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Jun 9, 2008, 2:24:14 AM6/9/08
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Hi All,

I am also intrested in this activity. just let me know how I can chip
in. I have digicam which we can use for recording and photos. Sorry
for late reponce i was bit busy for lat few days so could not visit
and reply for this...

-Subbu


On Jun 9, 10:46 am, "Jagannath Moorthy" <jaganm1...@gmail.com> wrote:
> If we are using youtube, we dont need great equipment your average
> digicam takes fairly decent video at vga resolution and we can use
> something like windows movie maker (sorry rushi) to splice it up.
>
> On 6/9/08, vinay shah <shah.vinayku...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Hello,
>
> > If needed I can help in video Editing.
>
> > Regards
> > - Vinay
>
> >>www.itihas.org.in/SattvaMay2008.pdfhttp://ngopost.org/story.php?title...- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Shree Kumar

unread,
Jun 10, 2008, 1:23:46 AM6/10/08
to Bangalor...@googlegroups.com

On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 11:45 AM, Mayank Rungta <mr....@gmail.com> wrote:
I think it is only fair to ride on the footpath. It's against the rules for motor bikes. In UK pedestrians and bikers were on the same track all along. In Bangalore there is no track for pedestrians - foot paths are missing at some places even on MG Road. There is no planning done for people to cross roads any where and all such places bikers have a tough time.

It is fair to ride on the footpath -we all do it everyday. But it's not fair to race on the footpath - be it cycle or motorbike - that too with camera in tow. This mail thread is all about bike-vs-motorbike. Hope you agree about the difference :-)

Deepa Mohan

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Jun 10, 2008, 1:39:03 AM6/10/08
to Bangalor...@googlegroups.com

Well, I cycle, and walk a lot, too, so I can say that in MY opinion,
the cyclists DO have the road to use, but the poor pedestrians have
nothing but the footpath (which is not there at all in some
places!)...and I have seen a little boy being injured by a cyclist on
the footpath, where he should have been safe from the traffic. So...I
don't agree that cyclists have a right to use the footpath to ride. If
you are on the footpath, wheel your cycle along.

Deepa.

Sanjay

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Jun 10, 2008, 1:44:10 AM6/10/08
to Bangalore Bikers Club
I think in order to convince the cynics, it's also important to have a
khatara cycle join the group, not just the high end imported 'greased
leopards'.

So in the interest of the cause, I humbly offer the services of myself
and my khatara cycle :)

Mayank Rungta

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Jun 10, 2008, 2:13:45 AM6/10/08
to Bangalor...@googlegroups.com
Bikes and motor bikes shouldn't be on the same road. Most countries have separate lanes for cycles and if there are no lanes the cyclists are expected to use the foot path sharing it with pedestrians respecting them. If there is no lane or foot path cyclists come on to the road in which case all vehicles must respect the cyclist - I have been seated at a bus that was moving at the pace of a cycle just so that the cyclist moves comfortably. That's the kind of respect given and taken... :)

In Bangalore, there is no separate lane. It is illegal for motor bikes to be on roads and there is a fine. For cyclists there is no rules or code of conduct possibly coz for most people we don't exist! :) But definitely going against the traffic on a one way and being a nuisance is unacceptable. Cycling on footpath is not illegal at least if not legal.

Fair race could be a single track and both the biker and motor bike go on it unhindered and we all know the result of that. We are talking of daily commute. All take their on choicest paths between the two points and reach the destination without breaking rules that apply to them. I am faster on my cycle against bike coz I can do such things as take shortcuts and ride on foot path without being a nuisance that I can't do on a bike.

By rules, I think cyclists are not to take flyovers. I tried to think of alternatives for the Domlur flyover and frankly unless I took a real detour I cudn't avoid it. I am sure it wud be a nightmare even if I were a mere pedestrian since there has been no planning for them either. Bangalore roads are not pedestrian/cyclist friendly.

I m waiting for the day things change and the rate at which things move and progress we have quite a long wait! :)

Let's do it the way it is on the video shared. No parking involved, no conditions applied except no breaking rules or being hooligans on roads. I think cycles will come a fair winner. I am sure lot of people can vouch for it.

-- 
Have a great week ahead,
Mynk

http://ngopost.org/story.php?title=Health_benefits_of_donating_blood__Sankalp_India_Foundation

Rohan Kini

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Jun 10, 2008, 9:56:37 AM6/10/08
to Bangalor...@googlegroups.com
Sure .. sure ..

I was planning on using a 'local' firefox for the ride ;)

Im sure there will be others who will be riding the greased leopards.

Subbu

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Jun 10, 2008, 1:46:09 PM6/10/08
to Bangalore Bikers Club
I do agree. When we measure the time its not fair to ask cyclists to
follow same rules as motor bikers. If that is the case I doubt if you
can beat the time. Ont only time +ve point for cyclists os they can do
things that motor bikers cannot do. Lift your vehicle when there is
jam get out on other side of the road or grt out of the traffic jam.
So its not fair to ask cyclist not to go on foot path.

-Subbu

On Jun 10, 11:13 am, Mayank Rungta <mr.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Bikes and motor bikes shouldn't be on the same road. Most countries have separate lanes for cycles and if there are no lanes the cyclists are expected to use the foot path sharing it with pedestrians respecting them. If there is no lane or foot path cyclists come on to the road in which case all vehicles must respect the cyclist - I have been seated at a bus that was moving at the pace of a cycle just so that the cyclist moves comfortably. That's the kind of respect given and taken... :)
> In Bangalore, there is no separate lane. It is illegal for motor bikes to be on roads and there is a fine. For cyclists there is no rules or code of conduct possibly coz for most people we don't exist! :) But definitely going against the traffic on a one way and being a nuisance is unacceptable. Cycling on footpath is not illegal at least if not legal.Fair racecould be a single track and both the biker and motor bike go on it unhindered and we all know the result of that. We are talking of daily commute. All take their on choicest paths between the two points and reach the destination without breaking rules that apply to them. I am faster on my cycle against bike coz I can do such things as take shortcuts and ride on foot path without being a nuisance that I can't do on a bike.
> By rules, I think cyclists are not to take flyovers. I tried to think of alternatives for the Domlur flyover and frankly unless I took a real detour I cudn't avoid it. I am sure it wud be a nightmare even if I were a mere pedestrian since there has been no planning for them either. Bangalore roads are not pedestrian/cyclist friendly.
> I m waiting for the day things change and the rate at which things move and progress we have quite a long wait! :)
> Let's do it the way it is on the video shared. No parking involved, no conditions applied except no breaking rules or being hooligans on roads. I think cycles will come a fair winner. I am sure lot of people can vouch for it.-- Have a great week ahead, Mynkhttp://ngopost.org/story.php?title=Health_benefits_of_donating_blood__Sankalp_India_Foundation

Rohan Kini

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Jun 10, 2008, 10:02:05 PM6/10/08
to Bangalor...@googlegroups.com
Any thoughts on how we can film the whole thing ?
I tried my helmet cam kinda infrastructure .. bombed :(

Need to figure out how to film the bikers.

Mayank Rungta

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Jun 11, 2008, 2:42:25 AM6/11/08
to Bangalor...@googlegroups.com
Doubles the one sitting behind on some bike that can hold - pillion rider can shoot... :) Worst case have a 2 wheeler or 4 wheeler for the cameras. I wud prefer former but if we can do it either ways shud be good.

Jagannath Moorthy

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Jun 11, 2008, 4:28:17 AM6/11/08
to Bangalor...@googlegroups.com
From experience, pillion shooting is not a good idea. I once rode from MG Road to Bommanahalli with my client from the US on the pillion. He was shooting throughout on the handycam. When he later played the tape for us, half the people got motion sickness and threw up.

I think we can have volunteers at signals and other locations enroute shooting the different riders/drivers. We can then join these clips to make a short (<5 minute) video.

Navdeep Singh

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Jun 11, 2008, 9:57:39 AM6/11/08
to Bangalor...@googlegroups.com
I guess no point having more than half a ton of discussions.. and thread eventually dying without ground action.
Have a meeting of interested participants ( maybe a weekend ride) and decide who shall do what.
I for one, will do my bit.
I do not commute by cycle.
Next week, I will commute to office by cycle for two days.
I will make sure
   - I leave for office at same time
   - Take same route/shortcuts as I do for motorbike
   - Flout the rules (if i do any), same way I do on motorbike
   - Not to treat it as race.

By Friday morning, You should have results.
Regular Cycle commuters just need to switch to their previous transport mode.. bmtc/cars/bikes for few days and publish the results.

Not everyone needs to be videotaped. We need to have large sample size and One nice (..with a plot) Video of few riders to make the impact.

Thanks,
~Navdeep
--
o__
_> / _
(_) \(_)...

Navdeep Singh

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Jun 20, 2008, 2:40:57 AM6/20/08
to Bangalor...@googlegroups.com
I managed to go to office by bike only once this week.

Here are the results

Bike       - Firefox Target
Distance - 15 km

Start Time: 10.45 am.
Time taken on cycle one way ( Thurs morning )   - 37 mins ( 32 mins for return)
Time taken on motorbike one way (Fri morning)   - 32 mins

From - VV Puram, Near Lalbagh West Gate
To     - RMZ, Ecospace, Sarjapur Outer Ring Road

As you see ....hardly much difference in commuting time on a bike and motorbike.
This route has outer Ring Road section too.
Commute time on a bike will certainly be lesser than a motorbike, in inner city circuits.

Thanks,
~Navdeep

Vick

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Jun 20, 2008, 5:47:10 AM6/20/08
to Bangalore Bikers Club
Hey Guys, a thought... I am talking to the "Times of India" guys to do
an activity on "Bicycle to work” – a week/month long activity
encouraging bicycle enthusiasts to use alternate mode of transit to
their workplace. This initiative can become a movement on lines of
“Lead India” that the Times have carried out.

Please do share your comments that can add value to my dialogue with
the concerned. You may also write to me at vickra...@gmail.com

Thanks,

Vickram


On Jun 4, 8:58 pm, "Rushi Bhatt" <rushib...@gmail.com> wrote:
> http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/bike-vs-car-vs-transit/
>
> I wonder how bangalore fares. Anyone interested in doing a test?
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