Featured Coverage
48 articles
💡 PRODUCT
Altmo: Mobility intelligence platform quantifying sustainable transport for climate action
Evolved from CycleTo.Work in January 2023, Altmo is an employee engagement and mobility intelligence platform that helps organizations quantify and promote sustainable transport choices to achieve climate change goals. Integrated with Strava, the platform uses gamification and real-time tracking to enable employees to log bicycle trips, public transit usage, and other eco-friendly commute options, providing instant insights on CO2 offset and fuel saved while contributing to corporate ESG targets and Scope 3 emissions reduction. The platform powers major initiatives including the Altmo Challenge Season 1 (a 90-day corporate cycling competition launched October 2024 by Pedaluru), the Pedal to Metro campaign where participants tracked rides to Yelachenahalli Metro Station, and CFAM's last-mile connectivity programs making bicycle trips attractive to corporate employees through quantifiable climate-positive metrics. With 8,600+ users from 860 companies across 115 cities, Altmo has helped save 200,000 liters of petrol and offset 500 tons of CO2 emissions, demonstrating its effectiveness in turning daily commutes into measurable climate action.
⭐ MILESTONE
India's first Centre of Excellence for Active Mobility to be established in Bengaluru
IISc Sustainable Transportation Lab and Urban Morph signed an MoU to establish India's first Centre of Excellence for Active Mobility, focusing on research, planning, and evaluation of non-motorised transport systems like cycling and walking to solve first and last-mile transportation challenges.
🏆 AWARD WINNING
Relief Riders: Volunteer cyclists deliver essential supplies during COVID-19 pandemic
Relief Riders, initiated by Bicycle Mayor Sathya Sankaran and CycleToWork ambassadors under Urban Morph in March 2020, mobilized volunteer cyclists to deliver groceries, medicines, and essentials to elderly and vulnerable populations during COVID-19 lockdowns. Starting with 36 riders in Bengaluru partnering with Police 1090 Elders Helpline, the initiative grew to 725-750 riders across 12-14 cities, serving over 2,000 citizens and covering thousands of kilometers, demonstrating bicycles as a safe, eco-friendly pandemic-era transport solution. The movement was nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize and won the 2021 UN World Bicycle Day Special Award.
Multiple Sources
March 2020 - December 2021
Coverage:
Residents Watch (Mar 31, 2020) |
Indian Express (Apr 20, 2020) |
Citizen Matters (Apr 27, 2020) |
The News Minute (Jun 3, 2020) |
YourStory (Jun 5, 2020) |
NewsMeter (May 1, 2021) |
Telangana Today (Apr 30, 2021) |
Pedal And Tring Tring (Jul 17, 2021) |
The Hans India (Aug 9, 2021) |
CyclingTips (Nov 29, 2021) |
New Indian Express (Dec 2, 2021) |
Medium (Dec 14, 2021) |
TrafficInfraTech (Jun 7, 2022) |
BYCS (Jul 28, 2022)
🏆 AWARD WINNING
Church Street First: India's pioneering pedestrianisation initiative transforms Bengaluru's urban landscape
Led by DULT in partnership with IISc, Catapult UK, and Urban Morph, Church Street First transformed a 750-meter CBD stretch into a weekend pedestrian-only zone from November 2020 to May 2021. The Clean Air Street initiative demonstrated remarkable results: 92% increase in pedestrian footfall, 162% rise in metro ridership, 94% visitor satisfaction with improved air quality and reduced traffic noise, and positive business impact with 70% shop owner approval. IISc's comprehensive 479-page impact assessment confirmed significant improvements in quality of life, air quality, and urban vitality, making it a blueprint for sustainable urban transformation. The initiative won the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Urban Mobility India 2021 Commendation Award and Volvo Innovation Awards 2021, inspiring plans to replicate the model across seven additional streets in Bengaluru.
📋 PROGRAM
Pedaluru: Five-year citizen campaign to transform Bengaluru into India's cycling capital
Launched by Bicycle Mayor Sathya Sankaran, Pedaluru is a comprehensive five-year citizen-led campaign aimed at transforming Bengaluru into India's cycling capital through infrastructure development, policy advocacy, and community engagement. The initiative features annual flagship events bringing together hundreds of cyclists to celebrate World Bicycle Day and promote sustainable mobility. Pedaluru 2024 saw over 550 cyclists gather at Kanteerava Stadium with Chief Guest MN Anucheth (Joint Commissioner, Traffic Police), supported by CFAM, GIZ, Bengaluru Traffic Police, and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The event recognized corporate participation with Qualcomm receiving the first corporate award from partner Altmo. Pedaluru 2025 continued this momentum with the launch of the Altmo Challenge—a 90-day corporate cycling initiative encouraging workplace participation in sustainable commuting. Through systematic advocacy and community building, Pedaluru works toward three main goals: planning with government for NMT policy integration, engaging cyclists and corporates to adopt cycling for commutes, and building better cycling infrastructure to make Bengaluru the cycling capital of India.
Additional Coverage
Connected Places Catapult and Energy Systems Catapult collaborated with DULT, IISc, and Urban Morph to transform Church Street into a vehicle-free 'Clean Air Street' demonstrating green technologies and sustainable transport solutions.
Connected Places Catapult
August 14, 2024
Communities celebrate Cycle Day events, but questions remain about whether this movement has prompted meaningful change in attitudes towards cyclists in Bengaluru.
Deccan Herald
June 14, 2024
CFAM and volunteers created a comprehensive map of bicycle-friendly routes in Bengaluru with data from 150-200 regular cyclists, marking less congested secondary routes to help cyclists reach metro stations and destinations safely.
Bangalore Mirror
September 20, 2023
Recreational cycling in Bengaluru increased four times during the pandemic with the number of cyclists rising from 21,673 in July 2019 to 51,685 in July 2021.
The News Minute
August 14, 2021
Sathya Sankaran faces significant challenges as Bengaluru's Bicycle Mayor in a city of 8 million motor vehicles with choked roads and limited safe cycling infrastructure.
The National
July 6, 2021
Sathya Sankaran was selected as Bengaluru's first Bicycle Mayor and plans to start education programmes in schools teaching the science of cycling and promoting sustainable mobility.
The News Minute
May 28, 2021
Sathya Sankaran plans to bring together nominees and cycling advocates to form a Council for Change to actively improve the cycling culture in Bengaluru.
Citizen Matters
May 22, 2018
42-year-old civic activist Satya Shankaran was announced as Bengaluru's first Bicycle Mayor, making it the third city in India to have one after Vadodara and Guwahati.
The Hindu
May 22, 2018
Sathya Shankaran will work with the state government and NGOs to achieve the goal of 50% bicycle use in the city by 2030.
Bangalore Mirror
May 21, 2018
Six finalists were shortlisted for Bengaluru's first Bicycle Mayor position, including Sathya Sakaran, an urbanist with 10 years of civic activism experience.
Bangalore Mirror
May 8, 2018
Bengaluru will have its first 'Bicycle Mayor' in May with 19 cycling enthusiasts vying for the honorary two-year position to promote cycling and advocacy with the government.
The Hindu
April 30, 2018
Sathya Sankaran, Bengaluru's Bicycle Mayor, discusses challenges of promoting cycling in a city of 12 million inhabitants and 8 million motor vehicles, focusing on engaging government, society, and industry.
Intertraffic
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