A
recent news story from Kampala, Uganda shows how city officials are making the
important shift from trying to ignore cyclists to recognizing that most of
their citizens want to bike.
This video of the story
starts with the worn-out assumption that only poor people ride bicycles. But as
readers of this blog know, a bicycle is often a rider’s ticket straight out of
poverty. The video gets right into that with an owner of a bicycle transport
business. This business man shows that not only has his bicycle business given
him comfortable income and paid for his children’s education costs, he is
healthy and fit because of it.
We also
get to meet Amanda Ngabirano, a One Street
Advisor currently serving as Secretary on our board of directors. She emphasizes
that people shouldn’t have to pay bus and taxi fares just to move around. She
shows that by investing in bicycle infrastructure so that anyone feels
comfortable riding, cities will be providing a free transportation choice for
their citizens. Bicycling will also keep them healthy, lowering health costs.
The
story ends with an uplifting interview with a city official who is genuinely
enthusiastic about their new bicycle investments, which include major bicycle
provision pilot projects in downtown Kampala.
I
recommend taking the four minutes to watch this uplifting story of a city that
will soon become a model for bicycle transportation provisions.
Sue
