October 28, 2025: “Mobility is not just about travel; it is about livability,” says Dutch urban mobility expert Geert Kloppenburg, who recently spent ten days in Mumbai studying how the city moves. The 49-year-old researcher and documentary filmmaker recorded over 60 hours of footage on Mumbai’s transport ecosystem, from trains and buses to bikes and rickshaws, offering an outsider’s yet insightful perspective on one of the world’s most congested cities.
During his visit, Kloppenburg met with local cycling advocate Vijay Malhotra, who had earlier visited Haarlem — Kloppenburg’s hometown in the Netherlands — to document the world’s cycling capital. Having worked with governments and mobility companies in cities like Los Angeles, Paris, and Istanbul, Kloppenburg was struck by how exhausting Mumbai’s daily commute can be.
“I’ve taken a cycle on the train; cycled on the Coastal Road promenade; observed traffic outside schools, parks, and stations like Bandra and Malad,” he said. “Change is happening, but it’s not consistent. The system exhausts people — that’s what mobility does, and why it matters.”
Kloppenburg believes mobility planning must look beyond vehicles. “When thinking about mobility, we need to plan for heat stress, flood resilience, noise levels, and safety — especially for children, women, and the elderly,” he said. Wider footpaths, fewer car lanes, and more green, open spaces are, in his view, “a cheap way to change life.”
On Mumbai’s expanding metro system, he remarked, “Metros are helpful, but 20 years late. If you’re spending millions on a metro line, get 20,000 shared bikes at every station.”
Critiquing high-speed roads like the Coastal Road, Kloppenburg warned, “Ring roads attract double the vehicles and cause bottlenecks. If your ambulances and fire brigades are stuck in traffic, what help is it?”
His prescription: better road design, more buses, dedicated lanes, and prioritizing pedestrians and emergency vehicles — not cars.
Source: Hindustan Times
