Commuting - Research question......

I have a two part question and I hope that you'll indulge me......

1) Why do you bike commute?

2) What do you think are the common barriers that keep people who might do so from commuting via bike?

1) Why do you bike commute?
For better health and fitness (I have to sit at a desk all day, if I didnt commute by bike, I wouldnt get any excersize). To relieve stress. I dont have to worry about traffic and the physical output is a good stress reliever. To add a little adventure into the daily grind.


2) What do you think are the common barriers that keep people who might do so from commuting via bike?
Fear. Their inabilities, the distance, the traffic, etc. I also think that most people dont like to leave their comfort zone and even if they tried it, it would be harder than driving their car and therefore they wouldnt like to continue.

1. Exercise, stress relief, fun, training for that century I have yet to ride, helping the environment (pretty much in that order)

2. "Fear of traffic" seems to be the biggest stated reason. Though more generally, it is a lack of understanding. After I started riding to work, I noticed many other people starting to do it. All it took was for me to show them that it was easy.

1. Excessive automobile use/dependency is ruining the country and I consider it my duty to reduce my contribution to it as much as I am able.

2. Fear of riding on a road with motorized traffic.

Those are my personal core reasons, and are enough. Sub reasons include:

1a. It defers expensive car repairs into the future.

1b. It saves money now in gasoline.

1c. I have not been getting any regular exercise, and it appears I will not have time for regular exercise for about six more years. Riding a bike is the only way I can do it.

1d. It has become a personal challenge to see how far I can push bike commuting and utility cycling, if I can reach the point of never driving a car for anything except transporting family members, hauling huge things, or visiting out-of-town relatives.

2a. Lack of imagination. I think one of the main reasons people don't ride bikes to work is that they can't imagine it. Car use is so common that people just "don't" ride bikes. Few can get out of that mental programming. And the majority who can't don't help matters because they think that those who can are weird.

2b. Lack of willingness to put up with the fussing of cleaning up, changing clothes, etc.

2c. For those who are willing to try it, lack of safe parking and facilities for changing.

2d. The above reasons are for those who "might," meaning is is at least possible. Huge numbers of people (at least where I live) are so far from work (e.g. live in far suburbs, work downtown) that it is for all practical purposes impossible to get to work in any way besides owner-operated motorized transportation appliance.

1) Fitness, economy, getting the oil producing countries to their knees.

2) Danger, lazyness, schedule, ignorance

1) It's fun, cardio fitness, mental relaxation, environmental commitment
2) They don't know how fun it is, unwilling to make the effort, fear of helmet hair and sweat.

1) In order of importance to me
a)It's FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN....
b)it's good exercise for me
c)It's environmentally sound
d)it beats sitting in traffic
3)Did I mention it's fun?

2) Why the general public doesn't
A)Most people don't have confidence in themselves, thinking it's too dangerous or too hard.
B)Life sometimes throws a wrench in the situation with kids, etc.

1) I love to ride. "Free" exercise time. Prefer to subway.

2) Cost misconceptions. Effort/distance misconceptions. Laziness. The incomprehensible modern separation of sweat from daily life (it's OK to sweat "at the gym" but not elsewhere, WTF?!?). And last, but not least, good, old-fashioned FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt).

Aside from parts of the above.

1. I'm an impatient man when it comes to transport. I hate waiting for buses. I hate sitting in a car waiting for three turns of the lights so that I can get into the queue for the next set. It seems like an exercise in futility most of the time. With cycling I'm in control.

I'm also a rabid environmentalist. 90% of journeys made by car in the UK are under 5 miles, an easy ride for a high majority of non-disabled adults. Something like 60% of these journeys are under two miles long, an easy walk for those not inclined towards riding. The impact of this portion of car usage disgusts me. I feel a social obligation is on us all to reduce our environmental impact, regardless of climate change. I cycle because I believe that it is the right thing to do, ethically.

I simply enjoy riding and look forward to getting out of the house and look forward to leaving work. I don't drag my heels any more and regularly extend my commute just for fun. If I didn't commute by bike then my journeys would be longer and more tiring leaving me with less time for riding.

2. A lot of it is social programming and although many of us prove that cycling is cheaper, at least as easy and, in many cases, faster, the path of least social resistance is the one that wins out. Advertising, friends, family, etc tells us that you drive to work or ride the bus/metro/train/tram to work. Why think for yourself when someone else will do it for you. In this era of hyperspecialisation you will think for someone else while they think for you and the norm is not questioned.

Answers:
1. I commute to work on my bike for many reasons.
- much less expensive than paying $20/day for parking
- much less stressful than driving in
- too far to walk to work
- cheaper than a bus pass
- car insurance becomes much more expensive if I drive to work
- I enjoy cycling

2. Reasons for not commuting by bicycle:
- Fear of Traffic [This is a huge factor. Many of my friends who ride agressively off-road will not commute for fear they will be struck by a vehicle.]
- Distance too great
- Adverse weather conditions
- No way to get business-appropriate clothing to work intact
- A lack of reasonable routes to the downtown core [Calgary has something like 600 km of on and off-street designated bike routes, but the vast majority are designed for weekend family use, not for commuting. It is possible to live within 2.5 km of downtown and still not have a direct cycling route to work that does not involve high-traffic areas and/or poorly maintained pathways.]
- Haven't considered cycling as an option to driving or public transit
- Workplace not receptive to bicycle commuting
- Lifestyle not receptive to bicycle commuting
- Don't enjoy cycling enough to commute

1. It suits me philosophically and it's practical (which is part of my philosophy).

2. It doesn't suit them philosophically. Seriously. Talk to someone who sells cars. In a candid moment, they'll admit that vehicle choice is all about self-image, not about practicality. The only people who select practical vehicles are ones whose self-image revolves around being practical.

2) Unaware that they can or that it is an option. I drive to work for 10+yrs and never once thought about bike commuting. Then one day... The second reason is it is more complicated at first, a change in routine, you not only need a bike, but the right bag, showers, clothing chanigng plans, lights, helmets, etc. One has to figure it all out and it can take a bit of trial and error.

Al

1. Fitness/health. Economy.
2. Perceived danger. Weather.

2. Weather.

We've been having a pretty warm autumn this year. Last week I rode in and it was beautiful - about 50F and sunny. I rode pretty hard and had sweat dripping down my face as I entered the building. The receptionist actually asked me, "Aren't you cold?"

1. In no particular order: saves money by not having to buy another car or use our family car more; saves me the stress of sharing our car with my wife; saves me time by providing exercise time while commuting; I feel good about not adding to air pollution problem and being dependent on gas (I don't know how much actual good it does); it's fun; impresses colleagues and friends; gets out in the community seeing people face-to-face.

2. Perception that: there isn't enough time; it is too physically challenging; it is a hassle getting cleaned up. Lack of information sources about biking and bike commuting. Laziness, inertia, lack of motivation to change the status quo.

1) fitness/health

2) laziness

I have a two part question and I hope that you'll indulge me......

1) Why do you bike commute?

2) What do you think are the common barriers that keep people who might do so from commuting via bike?


1. Why not?

2. The human ability to talk themselves out of anything that might be a change or involve some effort.

I have a two part question and I hope that you'll indulge me......

1) Why do you bike commute?

Same as most folks, it's good for me and good for the earth.


2) What do you think are the common barriers that keep people who might do so from commuting via bike?

My wife has one of the most common I hear - "There's no place to change my clothes." I'm lucky I don't have to dress up for work, she does. Also I echo the others, laziness, it's simpler to turn the ignition key then it is to figure out how to get to work and then actually do it.

1) It's fun, it gets me outside more, and I've figured out how to do it reliably well.
2) It takes effort and is often uncomfortable and inconvenient. Plus it may never occur to people that it's feasible for them. How many folks have showers at work or an extra hour? And most people are at a low level of fitness to bike easily.

A few years ago, I used to car commute 20 miles each way along a river, and passed bikers in lycra gear on good days. I just assumed that they were out biking before getting ready to work the way I ran a few miles before getting ready for work. It didn't occur to me that they were actually biking the 20 miles to work and back. Remembering only the painful banana bike of my youth, I thought 20 miles was very hard. Now owning a road bike, I wish I had one back then!

1. Why I ride to work: It's fun. It's good exercise. It's cheaper than owning a second car. Hate the bus. I don't use gas.
2. Things that might hinder others? Weather, work travel, distance from work, work culture, family responsibilities (picking up kids, running errands, etc.)

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond. Your answers were interesting to read and pretty much fall in with all of the other research we've done. This is a good thing.

Thanks again,
Lex

If you are still collecting responses, I'll throw in:

1. I am too lazy to walk, too cheap to pay for parking, and too impatient to take public transport.

2. Driving to work is the standard way of commuting and most people have no inclination to think outside that paradigm. Fewer still would actually try it. I've stopped trying to evangelize bike commuting; if they don't get it, I can't explain it to them.

1. I love to ride and this ensures me two rides per day.
2. They don't think it is the "adult" thing to do.

2. weather

Even among bicycle commuters, there are very few that commute in all conditions. I do, but when it 5 degrees and icy out, I see precious few fellow commuters. Over the last two weeks, we have had a couple rainy days, and even a light rain will keep 90% of the bike commuters off the road.

Since it's not an all-weather, every day option for most people, it's very easy to revert to the fall-back option -- car, bus, train. It's hard to build the habit of biking if you drive every third day (or every third season) because of the weather.

Other people on this forum have expressed this sentiment in terms of "car-free" not really being an option. Only when human powered vehicles become a realistic full-time alternative to motor vehicles, will we see a major shift. that requires infrastrucure, city planning and technology.

the more immediate barriers for the more adventurous among us include:
1) inadequate and unsafe riding conditions for cyclists -- i.e. poor driver education; lack of traffic enforcement; roads, traffic lights, etc. designed solely to accomodate motor vehicles; lack of aggressive liabilty laws shifting responsibility to drivers for bike/car or pedestrian/car incidents;
2) lack of safe/sheltered bike parking
3) lack of education about how bikes work - i.e. "it's easier than you think if you have the right gears, and the right gear."
4) image - i.e. do you want to be a "bicyclist" or a regular person. Few people really want to swim against the tide;
5) lack of changing facilities at destination;
6) fear of riding at night due to lack of available/practical lighting systems designed for commuting in traffic at night.

Others have listed these, but I really think that until regular people see bike commuting as a full-time, year-round alternative to driving, it will be a counter-cultural phenomenon.

About 50% of the bike commuters where I work stop commuting when it gets over 105 F or so. 80% when its over 110.

I would not bike commute in the summer (typically 88-92 deg at 7am this year) if I didn't have a shower. I don't like wet wipe baths - especially in restroom shared with managers. ;)

Al

It's fun and satisfying.

It saves me over $2,000 per year, mostly in parking costs.

It's the only way I can get exercise. I can jump on the bike and ride off to work inot a blizzard without a second thought, but I'd never stick with a non-transportational fitness ride schedule, or any other kind of workout just for it's own sake.

It saves wear and tear on my car, especially in the winter.

Given high levels of traffic congestion, especially during inclement weather, it can be more practical than driving, as well as faster.

I'm too lazy to drive. If you lived in my area, you would understand this.

Reasons why people don't do it:

People don't believe there are any transportation alternatives. They hop in their cars, drive fifteen minutes, then spend another fifteen minutes looking for a parking space a five minute walk from their destination. They lack the imagination to realize better solutions might exist.

Bicycles are marketed as fitness equipment. "Fitness" means getting sweaty and exhausted without the fun and excitement that comes from a "sport." It consists of unpleasant things that are good for you. Riding a bike to work makes as much apparent sense as using a Nordic Trak to go shopping.

Most commonly-available bikes are not designed for utility riding. They lack chainguards, fenders, and lights. They require a change of clothing to use them, which is just as well, since the expectation is that you will flog yourself into exhaustion. Most people believe that a half mile is sufficient to reach this state. Imagine if every car came without top, headlights, taillights, trunk, and wipers and the average car dealer had only a dim idea where these things could be obtained. Also imagine that the expectation was that you would spend several hours a week tinkering with it, and that a flat tire every few hundred miles would be perfectly reasonable. In fact, cars were like this a hundred years ago, and motorists then were hard core enthusiasts like cyclists are now -- and about as rare.

Paul

Its fun and healthy and it torques my manager off. Thats why I love it and make it a point to let him know I rode to work in the rain/cold/whatever.

I bike because:
I love the fresh air before being locked up in the office. I like biking in general, but don't get to do it much. I like the challenge of biking in difficult conditions (heavy snow and wind) and still being comfortable. And last but definatley not least; I'm a gearslut. I love "needing" more gear for my activities, researching it and shopping.

Others don't bike because:
They hate driving to work, but if biking takes even longer it must be just horrible.
People here in Iceland use their cars as a jacket or overcoat. If the weather is bad, we don't put more clothes on, we run to the car and try to get as close to our destination as possible by car (even if we are only going to the next house).
The weather here can be quite "unforgiving"

Hi Lex and thanks for asking. BTW, who are you and what will your research be used for?

In response to your questions (answers ordered by importance):

1) Fun, environment, convenience (urban), economy.
2) Social pressure, fear, laziness, convenience (suburban/rural).

I ride becuase it's smiple to do so. Bikes are easier and cheaper to have around than a car.

I'm also a fan of mass transit and walking. A bus pass and a bike are killer combo that allows you to stop fussing with crap issues like oil changes and gym memberships. Then add living in a house close to shopping. Much of the stuff we talk about on this board isn't really about cycling... it about lifestyle choices. Riding to work often sets off lots of other positive changes in a person's life.

People I know often ask questions about my bike riding and tell me how they wish they could ride-- then tell me that they can't ride because their lives are too complex-- they live too far away from work, have to drive kids around, can't find the time, bike helmet musses up their hair, ect.....

I always reply that if you can't fit riding a bike into your life, maybe it's time to change your life so you can. It's a free country-- we all have the chance to be healthy and happy.

About 50% of the bike commuters where I work stop commuting when it gets over 105 F or so. 80% when its over 110.

I would not bike commute in the summer (typically 88-92 deg at 7am this year) if I didn't have a shower. I don't like wet wipe baths - especially in restroom shared with managers. ;)

Al

I commuted almost every day while I was stationed in Yuma. It's a dry heat my butt!

1 - Fun, fitness, save $$$, but mostly I enjoy not conforming with social norms.

2 - Laziness, ignorance, social conformity, fear.

1) Why do you bike commute?
-Love to ride bikes.
-Exercise 2X30 minutes in my heart range a day X 4 or 5days a week.
-Stress reduction.
-Save $120 month.
-Burn at least 150,000 calories/year= a lot of ice cream.
-Better way to relate to the world than in a car.
-Cheaper then the health club and better use of time then health club+driving.

2) What do you think are the common barriers that keep people who might do so from commuting via bike?
-Poor physical shape.
-Perceived danger, (though many who are too afraid to bike in traffic are all too willing to sit around and eat and watch tv.
-Weather--too cold, too hot, too wet.
-Lack of shower facilities.
-Women perceive sweat and messed up hair as antithical to beauty and workplace advancement. Men do too, but to a lessor extent.
-Modern life asks a lot of peoples time. So they do things like eat fast food and drive cars.
-Easier to multitask in cars.
-Cycling seen as anti- american way.
-So cheap to drive. Little economic incentive to bike.

I have a two part question and I hope that you'll indulge me......

1) Why do you bike commute?

2) What do you think are the common barriers that keep people who might do so from commuting via bike?

1)multiple reasons:
-enjoyment
-exercise
-cost savings
-desire to reduce the social and environmental harm caused by cars
-and a tiny bit of pride/smugness about going against societal norms

2)
-ignorance about how practical and economical it can be
-fear (unjustified) of traffic
-laziness (and I don't mean they're too lazy to bike...I mean they're too lazy to investigate and plan for bike commuting)
-selfishness...it's just too easy to hop in the car and not worry about the impact
-urban sprawl - some of them just live too far from work to make it practical for them

Lex: I looked up other posts of yours and learned you are a paid urban bike advocate, which is great. I think you should mention that each time you post a research question, so people know who they are responding to and why.

Robert

Lex: I looked up other posts of yours and learned you are a paid urban bike advocate, which is great. I think you should mention that each time you post a research question, so people know who they are responding to and why.

Robert


I'm sorry for not mentioning it. I mentioned it in an earlier post but know that it should be re-stated again with each post.

Thank you everyone for your really great responses.

1. I love it - my ride into work is the best part of my day :-), Fitness and independence are also factors. I also feel the need to prove to CGY that you don't need a car to live here.

2. The main barriers I feel to cycling are black ice, poor road design, poor motorist training/culture, and snow.

I commuted almost every day while I was stationed in Yuma. It's a dry heat my butt!
Doesn't Yuma get over 130 sometimes? The record high here is 123, but it hasn't come close in quite a few years.

Al

1. For love of the bike.

2. Idiots in cars.

1. The bus is frequent and cheap, so I guess the primary reason why I bike is that it helps keeping me healthy. I could just as well have walked, but it takes longer. It's also a bit fun to keep my aging bike in good shape.

2. Lack of proper infrastructure. It's slowly getting better in my hometown, with dedicated bike lanes along the main roads. You're still lost when you get downtown, though.

What kept me from biking for many years was the hills. There's a saying in this city: "Everybody has to go uphill to get home again."

swwhite on the first page is almost exactly me for both questions. The only difference is that I would place a little more emphasis on the environmental reasons: I believe that our reliance on petroleum is unsustainable environmentally, politically, and economically, and I refuse to be part of the problem any more than I have to. So my personal goal is to avoid petroleum use as much as possible, and to continue finding new ways to meet that goal.

1) Exercise, to save money (but I haven't been doing it long enough (2 months, 3 days a week) to pay for the new gear), and that hollier than thou feeling.

2) My job is in the middle of a county (PG) that has a relatively poor school system. This isn't an issue for me, but is a huge issue for most of them. I think a number of them would be willing to try it if they were in that under 10 mile radius, at least durring the summer. You can't convince most people to try it when they are 20+ miles away.

W

1. Exercise, I get to eat more.. and more people biking keeps oil prices down so that alternative fuels won't get developed until much later. :D

2. Fear of traffic. Hassle of dealing with flat tires. Weather.

SharpT
Evil conservative.

1. To save money

2. They are afraid of being labeled as "different".

Oh, I didn't answer question 1 above

Why do I cycle commute? Because I am freaking addicted to it. I even commute on my days off ;)

Al

1. To save money

2. They are afraid of being labeled as "different".

I was expecting a lot more people to answer as you did with #2. Maybe it's just me, but I'm thinking with vehicles being marketed a status buy, that might play into the decision....okay, maybe not in a big way but maybe a not so conscious way?

Thanks again to everyone for answering the question and being so nice and friendly.

Lex

I was expecting a lot more people to answer as you did with...[fear of being labelled as "different" (from knobbymojo)]

Actually, I think knobby is right and some of the rest of us missed that one. I recall feeling a bit self conscious when I started, wondering if people would see me as some kind of freak, but I quickly learned that most people don't actually sneer at you for bike-commuting - a lot don't even seem to notice.

R

For Salt Lake:
1) Cost effective, great exercise, you get to enjoy the journey instead of focusing just on getting from point a to b, friendly to the environment, challenges myself and others to look at different solutions in getting around

2) Take car driving for granted and they won't consider alternatives, such a change might seem like too much to do, fear (often rightfully so) on potential danger, winter/cold weather, heat, perception of professionalism, suburbs/children or job demands make bike commuting less practical