Lex

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?

nitroRoo

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.

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.

Toki

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.

swwhite

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.

huhenio

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

2) Danger, lazyness, schedule, ignorance

sydney_b

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.

Jay H

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.

oboeguy

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).

The Seldom Kill

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.

pinkrobe

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

DCCommuter

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.

noisebeam

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

ajay677

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

Gonzo Bob

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?"

jnbacon

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.

Jarery

1) fitness/health

2) laziness

chipcom 

1. Why not?

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

tyfoid kid

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.

GradualStudent

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!

Cromulent

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.)

Lex

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

caloso

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.

jbone

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.

Mr_Super_Socks

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.

noisebeam

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