Slashdot Mirror
As Gas Prices Soar So Does City Biking
Hugh Pickens writes "As California's gas prices hit record highs, the millions of dollars spent in recent years on commuter bike lanes and public transportation projects in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other major cities are being seen in a new light by many drivers. Jason Dearen reports that San Francisco is seeing a 71-percent increase in cyclists in the past five years, and Los Angeles is reporting a 32 percent increase from 2009-2011. Both findings gibe with the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which found a 63 percent increase in bicycle commuters from 2000 to 2010 in the nation's 70 largest cities. 'In some ways it's a perfect storm of events that is starting to take place,' says Claire Bowin, head of policy planning for Los Angeles' planning department. Getting people out of cars 'is a very daunting task, but on other hand we have largely benefited from a growing community here that is demanding these things.' Los Angeles is building almost 1,600 miles of bike infrastructure (PDF) over the next five years. Los Angeles County's Metrolink, which features open train cars for bike riders is seeing record ridership. Changing attitudes about cars — caused by climate change — are helping these efforts as people in their twenties and thirties have adopted biking in larger numbers than previous generations (PDF)."
Clinton said it... "Its the economy stupid!"
It's healthier and it's more fun. The idea that the car equals freedom is pretty much dead these days if you live anywhere with a dense population. Cars are for the fat and lazy.
"Changing attitudes about cars — caused by climate change — are helping" - that sentence, right there, is where you left science behind. How did you draw that conclusion, exactly. Citations please.
Changing attitudes due to ever increasing taxation on the working man might be a better way to describe it.
So apparently, despite the opinions stated in a recent Slashdot article, helmet laws have very little impact on whether people ride bicycles. It's all about fuel prices. All we need to do to get people biking is to send gasoline prices through the roof.
For me, at least, biking to work us also about avoiding atrophy. Sitting in front of dual monitors for 8+ hours each day does nothing positive for my figure, so in addition to saving on gas, cycling is helping to save muscle mass.
I suggest that you try it, too.
If you had the same fuel prices as we do in the UK, your "obesity epidemic" would be over,
($8.50 to $9 per US gallon depending on where you live)
I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
Tracking commuters has been on the increase with the use of license-plate scaners. When you get them to use a bicycle, that advantage is no longer an option.
So, either we need a very fast computer system to track bicycles based on the images, or we need legislation to ensure every bike has a proper license plate that can be scanned and tracked. Also, a locked down holding container should be placed on each bicycle for the Feds to place their GPS equipment. Last but not least, a mandatory encircled cross on the rider's coat which would make a remote killshots easier. You never know when you need to set an example of environmentalists.
Here in central Europe, the city centers are tight, and so it's easy and quick to get everywhere, while with cars, you barely fit through the tight streets and it's a parking nightmare. So pretty much everyone I know uses a bicycle or public transport by default, and only takes the car if it's further away, there's something to transport, or there's another good reason.
But your cities and roads are far more spread out. And the environment is rather hostile to bike riders, from what I've been told. (Partially because apparently, many bike riders are rather crazy themselves and because the bike lanes are badly designed. [We have that too, though.])
So: How do you do it? Because that sounds a lot more frustrating than what we've got.
(And if you add the weight problem... Although that would probably quickly improve for bike riders.)
P.S.: Was there ever a time when people rode the bike to everywhere, like Marty McFly? Or are those just TV stories?
Ten years, and not because of gas prices, but because it's fun, and healthy.
In 1999, I was 250lbs, had cholesterol over 300, moderate to severe hypertension, and was pre-diabetic. I was taking medications for all, and additional medications for other complications that were the result of my Americanized lifestyle.
It started with walking to work, 3 miles each way. Then expanded into running 5Ks, and eventually cycling.
Now, I'm 165lbs, and not on any medications, with normal vitals across the board. I ride my bike to work at least 3 days per week, usually going far enough out of my way to ride 30-40 miles every day - and 60-70/day on weekends.
I think it's a travesty to sell cycling to work as a solution to a temporary problem, because people will quit the moment the problem goes away, or there is some other reason not to. Living an active lifestyle that includes daily exercise and human-powered commuting also helps solve America's obesity problem (and spiraling-out-of-control health costs) permanently. It's a shame more people won't pick it up, and that we can't bring ourselves to design towns and cities to allow for it.
It costs far less to add 3 feet of bike lane to a road than it does to treat 1000 cases of advanced diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, cancer, and other life-ending diseases. The government and the taxpayer have a vested interest in policies that facilitate people being healthy when they reach Medicare age - not to mention the people themselves who still have to pay a heavy price for their lack of health.
When I came to graduate school 7 year ago, about three of us in my 40 unit apartment block had bikes. Now I count more than 35 locked to various trees out my window. (and others store them indoors) The landlord is going to add bike racks. We don't even have bike lanes in our area and it is quite dangerous to ride bikes in this part of town. However, we don't drive the 2.5 miles to campus anymore. We walk, bike, or bus.
I live in the Helsinki area in Finland, and while for the most part Bike access is OK it seems the winters are almost impossible to solve. I used to bike all year round, and while it's quite enjoyable with the right equipment I kept running into the problem that the roads were plowed first and the bike lanes much later in the day, or sometimes not at all.
Does anyone live in a city where the winter biking thing actually works? (One with snowfall, that is.) Just curious, really.
.: Max Romantschuk
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BABY-DID-YOU-FORGET-TO-TAKE-YOUR-MEDS-/
Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!
Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like hyper dude.
"Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
Bicyclists darn sure do pay taxes for roads.
Interstates are paid roughly 100% with federal gasoline taxes. Bicyclists don't pay those taxes, but don't use interstates either.
State roads, depending on the state, are paid approx 10% - 50% with state gasoline taxes, the rest with general revenue. Bicyclists do pay general revenue.
Local roads -- which are most roads -- are paid for with state/fed grants and a big chunk of local taxes. The most common local tax is property tax, and bicyclists typically live somewhere, and therefore pay the tax directly based on the home they own or indirectly through their rent.
If gas taxes paid 100% of the road maintenance costs, US gas taxes would rival the UK.
Support a few technologists in Washington.
...Rail commuting, high speed train commuting, etc.
As soon people realise that it is cheaper to commute by train, they will switch to it.
Europe has a head start in that area: Cologne is part of the commuting area of Frankfurt, Lille (north of France) is withing commuting area of Paris and London, and so on. And more than often they combine bike and rail.
"Both findings gibe with the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey"
Gibe doesn't mean what the author thinks it means, in fact it's not all that far from the polar opposite.
"WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) (wn)
gibe
n 1: an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile
and intended to have a telling effect; "his parting shot
was `drop dead'"; "she threw shafts of sarcasm"; "she takes
a dig at me every chance she gets" [syn: shot, shaft,
slam, dig, barb, jibe, gibe]
v 1: be compatible, similar or consistent; coincide in their
characteristics; "The two stories don't agree in many
details"; "The handwriting checks with the signature on the
check"; "The suspect's fingerprints don't match those on
the gun" [syn: match, fit, correspond, check,
jibe, gibe, tally, agree] [ant: disaccord,
disagree, discord]
2: laugh at with contempt and derision; "The crowd jeered at the
speaker" [syn: jeer, scoff, flout, barrack, gibe]"
The human race's reserves of cheap, easily available energy are running out. We've had energy crises before. They were political. This time, they are geological. Sorry folks, you better get used to the idea that your kids will bike to school and maybe get a horse instead of a car if you are rich. We'll still be here, we'll still know about germ theory and we'll still be able to build electronics. But air travel will be an ultra-luxury, or maybe even a legend your kids won't quite believe.
you gonna put the dismembered hookers ? bikes have no trunk?
no self-respecting serial killer would be seen dead huffing and puffing down the road on an old rusty huffy,
maybe they will get a little trailer ansd pull that around?
dosnt seem too likely
captcha entice ?! lmfao
L.A, like many cities, are paying dearly for getting rid of their tram systems. I'd imagine that not all work places have a shower either.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
It took me a while to make the decision to bike to work. In retrospect, my whole life was colored by car culture. They're beautiful machines, and my friends and I spent large amounts of time talking about them and using them.
I also finally realized that our understandable desire to make our lives more comfortable and effortless is ultimately unhealthy.
All my notions and excuses left me, and I've been biking to work every day, unless snow and ice preclude it.
It's such an amazing way to start and end the day, even though it's not glamorized on TV.
On business a few years ago, a nice young man who was shuttling me into downtown Copenhagen in a company car described to me his intense interest in buying his own car, despite the tax disincentives to do so. And China is abandoning their bike culture, making single occupancy vehicle trips a sign of progress. And as an American I've found myself thinking: "It's not obligatory to copy every mistake we've made, feel free to learn from our bad examples."
I'm aged 61 and 210 (probably 35 more than my doctor thinks that I should be) , have sickeningly normal to low results in every metric (cholesterol, BP, blood sugars, liver function, rest pulse and everything else). I had a heart valve replaced two years ago (mechanical due to my projected life span, so the only drug that I take daily is Coumadin to reduce clotting potential around the valve) and even my surgeon and physician could only point to congenital causes.
We have been conditioned to believe that ANYTHING that is wrong with us is our own fault - whilst yours may or may not have been, it is disingenous of you to suggest that it applies to everybody.
When Bush is president and gas hits $2 a gallon, Bush hates the poor and black people and is raising gas prices to punish the poor. When it hits $4 a gallon under Obama, the president has no control of gas prices and high gas prices are actually a benefit.
For bonus credit, take note of all the stories around now that say renting a house is smarter than buying because they are covering up for how completely Obama destroyed the economy.
Do people also make bathroom trips less, when they eat less too?
Common Sense.
Newsworthy? Puh-lease
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Over the past 40+ years, in a slow and ongoing process, your fiscal and monetary policies have been destroying our buying power, your crony capitalism has bailed out the too-big-to-fail corporations and allowed the Big Industries/Corporations (finance, food, education, health, military, etc.) to influence the competitive landscape in their favor, your ever-increasing laws and regulations make it more and more expensive for companies to hire workers and raise their salaries/wages, and your social policies are enabling an increasing number of Americans to be non-productive members of society.
There are other contributors, but thanks to the above what we're experiencing, economically, is a slow death by a thousand cuts. I'm making a good bit more today than I was 20 years ago, yet my lifestyle is largely unchanged. The stuff I need to buy is a lot more expensive today than it was then (with the exception of housing; I made a couple of good decisions there). Some of my friends aren't so fortunate; they've seen their lifestyles decline.
But don't take my word for it; do your own research. Like me, you'll likely be surprised, shocked, and dismayed at what you find.
Thomas
That is why I put the phrase in "quotation" marks. It signifies a phrase that others use that I do not wish to identify as a statement from me.
As others here have pointed out, we are not looking malnourished here either. I am sue some politician somewhere will be pushing fuel prices as the cure. If we mention the idea first, we can be ready.
AC taxation and scaremongering have been used successfully to change behaviour for centuries. This is a subset of their method. Governments have used legislation to change behaviour for thousands of years. They still do. Remember that the next time you do up your seat belt. I am not sure if they save lives (citation needed) but anecdotal stories from people who work in A&E tell me that less people put their faces through car windscreens than they used to. That has to save money somewhere.
I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
I'm a Californian who just bought an electric bicycle conversion kit: 350W hub motor, 36V + 12Ah lithium battery. I'm hoping I can use it for my commute which is 40 km each way. This bike's range should be about 50 km, but I'll be able to recharge it at work.
I already have one electric bicycle but it is not a good solution for a long commute. It has a big motor (1.9kW) and 48V of lead acid batteries --> It can go plenty fast (60 km/hr) but it is rather heavy (45 kg) and doesn't have the range (25 km).
Religion is poison to rationality, and we lose sight of that at our own peril. -- Lurker2288
If you live and work in a close arrangement, a person has more time to engage in one's life!
The article should have had some questions on that in the survey. I know people who spend 2-3 hours a day (assuming no traffic tie ups) on the road getting to and from work. That is over 10% of one's waking life.
"Teach thy necessity to reason thus: There is no virtue like necessity" Richard II, Act I, Scene iii
foldplay your photos won't know what hit them.
If you had the same tax rates as we do in the UK, your "obesity epidemic" would be over,
($8.50 to $9 per US gallon depending on where you live)
FTFY
Oil is a global commodity, the price of the product itself is the same. It is the added taxes that make the difference.
Your quote just doesn't sound quite the same when the truth is used.
are fundamental lack of training. we all get a license to drive, but any moron can hop on a schwinn and decide he wants to ride to work. West Hollywood and santa monica in particular are littered with assholes who weave unsafely back and forth across their lane, never check over their shoulder for traffic, stare down at the road instead of up, and frequently blow through stop signs, red lights and no turn lanes. They unpredictably merge from the road to the sidewalk in order to evade traffic control devices they might find tedious as well. My problem is that there are no repercussions for this stupidity other than the death of a cyclist because police often just dont care.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Thank you, came here looking for this.
Sucks that biking on the freeway and bridges is so hazardous around here. Going out of your way on the small streets would take twice as long unfortunately. It would take about 2 hours for me to bike to work if I had to do it :/ 25 minutes by car. I could bike if I wanted to only eat take-out during the week and go to bed as soon as I'm done eating.
Here the snow and ice poses a problem in winter, and in some parts they don't even plow the sidewalks (especially where my workplace is located, in a small rural town). How do you deal with it?
Fixed that for you. (subject)
Get a good city bike.
I moved into the city a few months ago, and brought my old mountain bike as I'm only a dozen blocks or so from my office.
I tried biking into work once. ONCE. By the time I got there, I was so exhausted that I spent an hour trying not to pass out, throw up, or do both simultaneously. And that was only partially because I'm a bit out of shape - the bike wasn't exactly in good condition*, and was built for rough terrain, not light city commutes. And carrying a 9-pound laptop on my back certainly didn't help.
I'm vaguely looking to buy a new bike - one better-suited to urban riding, and with a lot less rust. It's gotten too cold to ride now, though - I'll probably wait until spring.
* The chains were rusted and frequently slipped (once completely off the gears), the forward gear shift was jammed, and the brakes were barely working. Seriously, I would probably have been better off walking - I frequently walk about halfway to the office anyways, to grab a quick bite.
For winter riding, you want relatively narrow tires with soft compound rubber, with studs. About the narrowest studded tire for 700c wheels is around 32mm.
The studs are for ice.
The soft compound is so the tire is compliant in colder temperatures.
The narrowness helps cut through snow down to the road surface.
A fat tire will ride on top of the snow, where there's zero traction.
Please help metamoderate.
They should be easy to find in that area. You'd actually be amazed at how little it matters whether a road is plowed or not if you're using the right tires for the job. That and start lobbying the city to plow the bike lanes better.
Please help metamoderate.
I wish I could bike more, but there are several considerations that make it far from a good solution for me.
I live about 15 miles (via an interstate) each way from work. Since biking on said interstate is suicidal and illegal, I'd be looking at closer to 20 miles taking local routes instead. That's each way. 40 miles a day seems a bit excessive to me for a biking commute, not to mention the time it takes to get to/from work goes from 40 minutes to 2-3 hours.
I would bike locally to errands within a reasonable distance (grocery store, and such). But often when I get groceries, I find myself picking up perishable items. And a 45m bike ride in 90F weather would undoubtedly render anything perishable unsafe. I also tend to buy a lot of groceries at once, and carrying that much crap on a bike would be bad for my already iffy back. One of those adult-sized tricycles with a large basket in the rear (with a cooler) would solve both of those problems, but those are bulky and impossible to store in an apartment, unlike a standard bike.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it! --Longbottle
Not according to the Metrolink FAQ
I know I'm going to get modded down by the hard core cycling nerds here, but having the ability to afford gas at reasonable prices means I can go places that I would normally NOT be able to go by bicycle or mass transportation. Locally that means many hiking places and recently a drive to the Sierra Nevada for hiking and fall leaves.
I know exactly how it feels to not be able to drive, and your whole world you can access shrinks rather tremendously. In some areas, you may not miss much, but in California and southwest in general there are whole worlds to see out there with easy access by car. Yeah yeah you MAY be able to swing it with a bicycle + train, but the logistics would be MUCH harder to do. And there are many places out west which don't accommodate mass transit very well.
Hey, and this is coming from a cycling nerd to move to California BECAUSE OF cycling and the weather to do so! And I've done a LOT of commuting by bicycle BEFORE it became fashionable or hip. All I'm saying is there's a balance and a place for cars as well as a place for bicycles.
Part of the problem with biking culture in the US it is an evolution of racing/track/BMX bikes. These are designed for weight reduction and aerodynamics rather than comfort. Exposed chains are almost universal, necessitating having your leg cuff rolled up or rubber banded, if you try to wear normal clothes.
Meanwhile in places like The Netherlands and Denmark, bikes are built to be practical for normal people in normal clothes to ride in a comfortable position. Step-through bikes are the norm and are not considered "women's" bikes.
The first image on this page is a Dutch-style bike. The lower pics are the closest thing America has to offer. http://clevercycles.com/blog/2007/06/26/dutchness/
Notice on the Dutch bike:
1) UPRIGHT POSTURE -- for comfort rather than aerodynamics
2) FULL CHAIN CASE -- So you can wear *regular clothes* without getting grease all over them or having them get caught in the gears.
3) COAT GUARD OVER REAR WHEEL -- If you wear loose, long clothes like coats, jackets, or skirts (or a tux), it will not get caught in the rear spokes.
4) LARGE FENDERS -- Also to keep your clothes clean if the ground is wet or dirty!
These things add weight to the bike or add wind resistance. Sports bikes in the US shun all these things. Unfortunately, sports bike design has affected even "city" bikes in the US, which means that people barely remember what a full chain case or coat guard are anymore.
In the Netherlands, people go out clubbing on their bikes wearing their sexy outfits. Members of parliament bike to work wearing their suit and tie.
If we want people to switch to bikes in the US, we need features like these so people don't have the inconvenience of having to change clothes or roll up their pant leg (and still risk grease or nicks on their calves). These are all obvious solutions that are just not as obvious to American bicyclists because they never see them now.
Blowing through stoplights, riding the wrong way in traffic, forcing pedistrians out of their way on sidewalks..
I've also recently bought a hybrid bicycle. Why should I pay $100 a week for a gym membership just to get my cardio up? Riding a bike gets me to work, gets me fit, gets my heart rate up and is good for the environmnet. Good for my wallet, good for my health!
Yeah, who in their right mind would?
OH and did I mention most of the year it's close to 100% humidity, 95-110 F, and there are LEGIONS of mosquitos between early March and late September??? And it rains all the time. Who in their right mine would even ride a motorcycle in those conditions?!
Nokia makes some nice studded tires (I hear it snows in Finland!), they're pretty spendy, but I plan to get some so I can climb Mount Ashland this winter.
They feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule.
The problem is that our infrastructure is built around cheap fossil fuel and will have to be refitted around slightly less cheap renewable energy.
The problem is our economy is built on cheap, easy money, and will have to be reorganised around the human rather than the capital. I doubt that we can complete the transition in time.
They feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule.
(Where) you gonna put the dismembered hookers ? ... maybe they will get a little trailer and pull that around? (That) doesn't seem too likely.
If its like, dismembered, a Burley Nomad's rated for 100#. If your thing is fat hookers, make more trips.
Roller clutches are hard to find, but coaster brakes can still be found; Slick tires are nice and quiet as well, making those late night trips to the sticks even more discreet.
They feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule.
I'd be surprised if gas prices were the cause of an increase in bike commuting. If you live within biking distance of work, the amount of gas used probably won't cost enough to influence your decision. At least in Chicago, parking and traffic are the main reasons not to drive to work, and most people take the train or bus.
As a bike commuter, I attribute the increase in better infrastructure (lanes & signage) and a growing cultural awareness that city biking is a safe way to get around.