ABSTRACT
Cycling is a key mobility option for low-income citizens in the Global South. In India, cycling is a socio-technical regime that is undergoing substantial transition, driven by diverse visions of sustainable mobility held by actors and contrasting strategies undertaken by them. In the course of the transitions, top-down policies and planning initiatives dictate the directions of transitions by enabling or constraining user routines. Such is the case in Kolkata, a megacity in India. We studied the multi-faceted nature of transitions in the cycling regime in Kolkata, focusing on the intersection of administrative practices, socio-institutional practices, users’ roles and discourses around cycling. Applying these concepts, we examined the processes of banning cycling and implementation of cycle sharing in the city. We observed that users’ roles varied significantly across the two trajectories of change. Their influence in shaping transitions largely depended on their socio-economic conditions and relative positions of power. The case shows the inherent politics and contested nature of transitions in the Global South. The research also illustrates that cycling transitions need to be adaptive to the local socio-cultural context, inviting policy-makers and users to act in coordination with one another in shaping smart and sustainable mobility futures.
