World Bicycle Day observed at Dhaka with a bicycle rally and sit-in program
World Bicycle Day is on June 3. This day has been celebrated under the auspices of the United Nations since 2018. The theme of this year’s World Bicycle Day has been selected as “Cycling for a Sustainable Future”.
On June 1, 2025, a street gathering and a city-wide bicycle rally took place in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, to celebrate the day. The rally and gathering on the streets were organized by the Institute of Wellbeing Bangladesh and Work for a Better Bangladesh Trust.
The program was co-organized by Uttara Cycle Community, Female Cyclists of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Cycle Lane Implementation Council.
The rally, with over a hundred cyclists, began and ended at Abahani Playground in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, routing through Manik Mia Avenue and Khamarbari.
A gathering and discussion meeting was held after the rally. Md Mithun, Assistant Project Officer at Work for a Better Bangladesh Trust, expertly facilitated the discussion meeting.
In his special guest speech, Mr Gaus Peary, Director of Work for a Better Bangladesh Trust, said, “The United Nations has declared 2026 to 2035 as the Decade of Sustainable Transport.
This initiative focuses on safe transportation, reducing climate disasters, and creating an affordable transit system. And in this case, bicycles can be the first and best means of transportation.”
“Therefore, I appeal to everyone, including the Bangladesh government, to come forward to promote bicycles,” he urged.
“Although there are bicycle lanes in Dhaka city, there is no connection network lane. High taxes on bicycle spare parts in Bangladesh’s national budget make it difficult for people to access safe bicycles.
I appeal to the Bangladesh government to remove these obstacles and make this vehicle available to the common people.” he added.
Mr M A Mannan Monir, Founder of Dhaka Ideal Cadet School, referring to Dhaka’s traffic congestion, said, “Dhaka city has now become a stagnant city due to severe traffic congestion.
Traffic congestion in Dhaka is wasting 8.2 million working hours daily, primarily due to the rising number of private cars. As private cars occupy more space, the roads are becoming narrower. To overcome this situation, policymakers need to focus on promoting bicycles.”
Aminul Islam Tubbus, President of the Bangladesh Cycle Lane Implementation Council, said, “Cyclists are the most neglected in the country.”
“Cycling is a means of transport that can bring about sustainable development of the country, including pollution prevention. Bicycles are a vehicle that makes our daily transportation easy and smooth,” he added.
“People of all ages prioritize physical and mental health through creative activities. The state is creating facilities to encourage cycling, aiming to reduce energy use, traffic congestion, and noise pollution for a better environment,” he described.
Omar Faruk, Admin of Uttara Cycle Community, said, “Dhaka Metropolitan City is at the top in noise and air pollution. Bicycles should be given priority to prevent pollution.
The general public has to spend a lot of money every day on transportation. For this, the price of bicycles, cycling environment, cycle lanes, and adequate parking facilities must be within the purchasing power.”
Rayer Bazar High School Assistant Principal Tahazzat Hossain stated, “We must ensure safe and unobstructed cycling on all roads in Dhaka city.”
He said, the previous government took the initiative to make a lane. But due to lack of proper planning, it failed. We request from this meeting that a bicycle network and bicycle lanes be implemented in Dhaka.”
Md Abdul Alim, moderator of the Bir Shrestha Noor Mohammad Public College Cycling Club, said that most students at schools and colleges commute by bicycle. “Separate bicycle lanes and parking are the need of the hour for their safety.” He added.
Confidence Memorial High School, Team Life Bangladesh, Transform Eco Care, BD Cyclists, Dhaka University Cyclists, Jan Kalya also participated in the bicycle rally and location work session organized by the Institute of Wellbeing Bangladesh and Work for a Better Bangladesh Trust on the occasion of World Bicycle Day.
