Now, Tvm has a ‘Bicycle Mayor’

Thiruvananthapuram: Prakash P Gopinath, better known as Cycle Prakash among cycling enthusiasts has been selected as Bicycle Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram. The title is awarded by BYCYS, an Amsterdam-based social enterprise, to those who are engaged in activities promoting cycling.
Mayor V K Prasanth will hand over the official badge of Bicycle Mayor to Prakash at the valedictory function of Haritha Nagarotsavam at Public Library Hall here at 4pm on Sunday.
“The title is allotted for two years. We used to conduct events and cycle rides as per our schedule, now we will be more responsible towards our activities. The credibility of the title will help us in our initiatives such as cycle track and stations,” said Prakash, who is the founder and managing trustee of Indus Cycling Embassy
BYCYS works to create and scale breakthrough solutions in commutation. It aims to make switch 50% of all city trips to bikes by 2030. Every Bicycle Mayor in their network has to work towards this mission according to local needs.
“We have started labelling bicycle repair shops in Google maps. We have a plan to create and facilitate a framework though which one can donate unused bicycles to people,” added Prakash. He intends to form bicycling clubs in schools and colleges, mediate with city corporation to have cycle tracks and stations and provide cycle training to more women.