Bikes emerge as a post-lockdown transport option in Mexico City

Commuters on two wheels in Mexico City are making more use of new bike paths, a trend that's been catching on in cities across the globe as a way to stave off the wave of coronavirus infections and an alternative post-lockdown mode of transportation.

New bike paths along several of the city's main arteries were installed as a temporary solution for people to commute without having to use buses or other crowded public transportation to minimize one-on-one contact.

Rodrigo Diaz, Mexico City's Under Secretary of Mobility Planification, said having the new bike lanes along Insurgentes Avenue was on the drawing board for years and the pandemic provided the right opportunity for its implementation.

"Emerging bike lanes were always in the back of our minds.

But of course nobody dared to propose them," said Diaz.

"Being an emergency, the pandemic made it possible to go for a radical solution."

Areli Carreon, Bicitekas Founding member, said the pandemic revealed a crisis in public health and problems around transportation and mobility.

While riding bicycles in Mexico City has been the norm among some who rely on two wheels for their daily transportation, others are seeing it as a new way to protect themselves from getting infected with the new coronavirus.

Similar initiatives are being implemented elsewhere.

Officials in Lima, Peru and Bogota, Colombia have set up bike networks and encouraged its residents to cycle to reduce the person-to-person contact.

Mexico topped 30,000 COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, overtaking France as the country with the fifth-highest death toll since the coronavirus outbreak began.

(Image Credit Pixabay)