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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!"
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.
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.
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."
Norrköping, Sweden, biking during the winter usually woks fine. The bike lanes use to be plowed quite quickly, but you need winter tires.
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.
Statistics can be interpreted in many many ways.
Deaths per mile are higher, deaths per hour on the road are much lower. Cycling encourages you to live close so you can reach amenities by bikes. Few cycling commuters live 20+ miles away from work, lots of car owners do.
I commute four miles to work in 15 minutes by bike. Many others at the same location commute 10 miles in that time.
So, if you pretend your bike is a car and do 15,000 miles a year on it, your figures might be right. Use a bike like most do and ride only a few thousand miles per year and your figures are misleading to the point of being ridiculous.