Parents in Kubwa, a suburb in the Federal Capital Territory, have called on the federal and state governments to develop bicycle lanes on roads for students with bicycles to ride to schools and other places safely.

They made the call at the second edition of a 10-kilometre cycling competition organised for students in Abuja.

The competition tagged “Bikers Race: Cycling is Fun”, was organised by Apexdotcom in collaboration with Dynamic Women on Point.

Marian Oluwapidan, a parent and one of the organisers of the competition, said that the competition would encourage children to take themselves to school or go on errands.

She explained that the competition would also build confidence, stamina and a better mental capabilities of the students.

“With this fuel subsidy removal, they will not need a school bus, with their bicycles, they can actually ride to school.

“When they get to school they can park their bicycles and when they are done, they take their bikes and go back home.

“This will reduce the stress on the parents trying to pay for school bus or trying to pay for commercial motorcycles, but once they have a proper bicycle, they can ride to school,” she said.

Another parent and one of the organisers, Gloria Eloho-Uduokhia, observed that the initiative was to enhance the wellbeing and physical fitness of the students.

“The economic situation in the country is something else as fuel prices are on the high side.

“We organised this competition so that the students prefer to ride their bikes to school.

“With this, we are also calling on the government to create lanes on the roads for students to be able to ride their bicycles safely,” she said.

Master Dominion Caleb, who emerged as the winner of the competition, appreciated the group for coming up with the competition.

“It was a good experience and I want to thank God for making me come first,” he said.

At the end of the competition, prizes were given to the winners and runner-up participants in each category.

(NAN)