I was watching the movie "Do Dooni Chaar" the other day. It is about the struggle of a family to transition from a two wheeler to four wheeler. I guess during the last decade the entire middle class in India has undergone this transition. Gone are the good old days of Bajaj Chetak. Every family has at least one car - a distant dream of a middle class family - not many years back. I for a change, experimented with a reverse transition. I moved back from a car to a motor bike. The results are quite positive.
It all started with an intention to reduce the carbon foot print as a family. Ever increasing Petrol price in India was also a factor. The final push came when my office moved to a farther location and my commute time doubled. I awaited for the rainy season to get over and decided to move to a Motor Bike for office commute. It has been more than a month and I am very happy with my decision.
The ROI on my new investment will impress any CFO. However, I am right now content with the time that I am saving and a feeling of doing my bit to reduce Carbon foot print. I am also happy that I find myself below the peak hr per-capita road space consumption in Mumbai. All this matters to me.
I realized some non-tangible benefits as well. The exception management is simply beautiful with my new machine. Unexpected traffic? No issues. I can easily maneuver my way through the roads of Mumbai without getting stuck for Hrs, waiting for the traffic to clear out. Parking is a cake walk. I am giving away my dedicated car parking in office. This should make at least one colleague of mine happy.
The bike does come with some challenges as well. I don't think I will use it so regularly during the Mumbai rains. I have factored in 8 months usage per yr in the above calculation. I am not sure about Summer as well. Secondly, unless you are careful, bike driving can be risky as well. However, I am pretty old school when it comes to driving.
I think its time we give a thought to our consumption patterns and optimize it keeping all factors in mind - including the mother earth. I am not suggesting to get rid of the car. But do give a consideration of reducing its usage. If two wheeler is not an option for you, look at alternatives. Car pooling, public transport or simply working from home. A friend of mine, who heads a big factory, is thinking about making company bus mandatory at least once a week for everyone. How about no car day at least twice a month?
For now, I am happy to see my car parked for most of the week-days and love to drive it with the family during the week-ends. This initiative has encouraged a few of my friends to seriously think on these lines. I hope some of them turn around. How about you?
