Electric Cycles in Kolkata

First, the rule every Kolkata cyclist already knows. Kolkata Police keep cycles, e-cycles included, off a list of main roads and flyovers. A 2020 notification opened every lane and bylane to cycles. So most riders just slip onto the side streets that run parallel to the big arterials.

Off those roads, though, it's a lovely city for an e-cycle. No hills at all. Bhowanipore, Gariahat, Shyambazar, Behala: neat little grids, short distances, slow steady riding. Gariahat to Park Street is around 5 km, and Behala to Esplanade about 9. Pedal assist earns its keep in the humidity, when a plain cycle leaves you drenched before you've reached the office. Carry a rear light for evenings. The lanes round Tollygunge and Ballygunge get dim and crowded after dark, and a tram track will grab a thin tyre if you cross it at a shallow angle, so take it square-on.

The east feels different. Salt Lake Sector V and the Action Area offices in New Town sit on wide planned roads, and New Town has put cycle tracks along several of its main avenues. Plenty of IT people live out in Kestopur, Baguiati or Lake Town and ride 4 to 8 km in. TomTom's 2025 index put Kolkata 29th in the world for congestion, which tells you why a cycle often beats the bus on these runs.

Then there's the rain. Alipore logs around 1,800 mm a year, nearly all of it June to September. After a cloudburst Thanthania, Amherst Street, Park Circus and bits of Behala go under. Wait it out. Don't ride through standing water, and dry the bike off before you plug it in. April and May bring the sudden Kalbaishakhi storms, so glance at the sky in the afternoon.