September 22 - on your bike!

Some months ago a cyclist riding along the narrow pavement on the Birkirkara bypass was stopped by a policeman and told that he should ride on the road.

The cyclist immediately retorted that one would have to be mad to ride a bicycle on the bypass. He hopped back on his bicycle and was gone (but still riding on the pavement) before the bemused policeman could say any more.

This rider was an old age pensioner who was on his way from Sliema to Lija. He had agreed to feed his son's cats while the latter was away on holiday for two weeks.

Rather than drive a car from his home in Sliema to Lija every day, he decided to cycle there and back. It was a round trip of just over an hour. Apart from the unavoidable disagreeable heavily polluted short bit on the bypass pavement, it was an enjoyable ride through quiet roads on the outskirts of Sliema, San Gwann etc.

By now readers must be wondering what this is all about. The story raises a number of points worth pondering as we approach European car-free day.

First of all, the bit with the policeman. Was the cyclist justified in theoretically breaking the law by riding along a (deserted) bypass pavement or should he have risked life and limb by sharing the roadway with the cars hurtling madly along the bypass?

Given the crisis level of pollution in Malta, should the state do more to encourage cycling?

Will Malta ever have cycle paths?

To see somebody riding a bicycle on an errand is still a rarity. Witness the number of cars drawing up at stationers to buy newspapers on a Sunday morning - is it really necessary to use a car to buy paper clips or a newspaper? Could these people not have walked or used a bicycle? How can people be persuaded to walk more or to use a bicycle or other environment-friendly transport, such as an electric scooter or e-bicycle, for short journeys?

Secondly, this particular cyclist was an old age pensioner, soon to be 70. Considering the increasing dependence on the motor car, how fit (or unfit) will the coming car-bound generation of senior citizens be by the time they reach pension age?

Thirdly, and most significant of all, this pensioner was using a uniquely non-polluting form of transport. The fact that the cats in Lija did not go hungry demonstrates that the bicycle is a valid means of transport.

In terms of pollution, the difference between a man travelling by bicycle and motor car is mind-boggling. The cyclist moves noiselessly with infinitely more efficiency than that of the most superbly constructed machine or animal and he has no parking problems.

The energy expenditure, equal to an efficiency of 1,400 miles to the gallon of petrol, is equivalent to a 60-watt bulb. The fuel used by the cyclist is quite universal - anything from pizza to Russian caviar.

Had our pensioner travelled by car, the 10 or so trips would have burned about 40 litres of petrol, he would have produced around 30kg of carbon dioxide and used up equally enormous amounts of oxygen while producing carbon monoxide and other pollutants - all this just to feed three cats.

One of the problems in Malta is, admittedly, that our country is very hilly. But then, distances are short and there must be many commuting journeys that do not involve hills.

For instance, much of the Sliema, Gzira, Msida, and Pietà areas, and almost the whole of Birkirkara, Qormi, Sta Venera and Hamrun, are not hilly and Valletta is easily reached from Hamrun with only a gentle incline before Floriana.

There must be thousands of people who commute short distances to work and back in these areas. With the introduction of cycle paths and some encouragement from the government in the form of propaganda and other incentives, this healthy form of transport could become a reality, but the government lacks the vision and initiative. The fact that the Maltese are addicted to fossil fuel-driven cars does not help. Those reluctant to use their own muscle power could use an electric scooter or e-bicycle.

European car-free day is just around the corner; our Ministry of Transport and the Malta Transport Authority should not miss this opportunity to encourage a healthier attitude to transport and show they are in favour of environmentally friendly transport. Here are two suggestions as to what the ADT might do:

Promote the use of bicycles by organising a lottery where policemen and traffic wardens will issue lottery tickets (instead of horrible fines) to anybody seen riding a bicycle on September 22. The prizes? A number of good quality mountain bikes. Another nice gesture would be to refund VAT on bicycles bought on September 22.

Formulate a clear policy on alternative environmentally-friendly transport, such as electric scooters and electric bicycles, and announce it some time before September 22 so that people will be encouraged to buy these machines and try them out in complete safety on September 22.

Finally, why should it not be possible for the whole of Malta to give up cars for just one day when the rest of Europe can do this? Let us hope that all local councils in Malta and Gozo will rise to the challenge and have the courage to ban cars on September 22. Let us also look forward to seeing a minister or two going to parliament on a bicycle - now that would really be something.