Rapid rise in number of students cycling to school, girls lead, finds study

There has been a rapid rise in the number of students cycling to school in rural areas and the "silent revolution" is being led by girls, especially in Bihar and West Bengal, new research has found.

The scholars at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and the Narsee Monji Institute of Management Studies also found strong evidence that bicycle distribution schemes (BDS) have helped increase cycling in states where these were implemented and the biggest beneficiaries were rural girls.

According to Srishti Agrawal, a PhD scholar at IIT-Delhi's Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre, gender norms, affordability of bicycles, distance to school, and safety on roads are likely the major determinants of cycling to school in India.

"Nationally, cycling to school levels increased from 6.6 per cent to 11.2 per cent over the decade (2007 to 2017). These levels nearly doubled in rural India (6.3 per cent to 12.3 per cent) while remaining stable (7.8 per cent to 8.3 per cent) i