Dahon.Steve

Here's a good story from PBS on a bike shop called the HUB in Tulsa. Tulsa does have public transit but it's limited at times. No public transit at all on Memorial day??

So the Hub provides those without motor transport accesss to free bikes.

https://youtu.be/jh5Ubk6G8gA

TickDoc

We're getting more bike friendly each year. Love my town.

Roody

I really enjoyed that story. Thanks for posting. The power of bikes continues to amaze me.

Dahon.Steve

I was watching this video on Section 8 and there were truck loads of people waiting since 5 in the morning for a chance at the APPLICATION only! What also surprised me was an interview with one woman who said if she wanted a better standard of living, Oklahoma was the only place she knew where her income could afford a better standard of living than out east.

When I thought about this, it made sense because in my town, there is No place for homeless women to live. In fact, New Jersey is horrible if you end up on the streets. New York City is much more generous.

Dahon.Steve

Agreed.

We're seeing all of these marches and protests about the $15.00 dollar an hour minimum wage. Yet, there is no discussion about becoming carfree to boast your income. We're not about to have a national minimum wage of $15.00 dollars an hour for another 25 years at best.

Artkansas 

Little Rock is similar to Tulsa is several regards. We don't have a Hub, but Recycle Bikes for Kids provides the same role of allowing people to get a bike in return for volunteer labor. Our bus hours are limited, and they will not be running on Memorial Day. However, yesterday, bus service was free in conjunction with Ditch the Keys week.

Ekdog

The fact that there's no bus service on Memorial Day is an outrage. It shows that Little Rock doesn't take public transport seriously. What are people who rely on the bus and have to work that day supposed to do?

gerv 

We have the same outage here. If you don't have a car and can't get around on a bike, you're probably staying at home. It does seem kind of odd actually, like the metro bus companies haven't realized the shops are open on holidays.

TickDoc

We only have one shelter that will accept women with children over the age of thirteen, but overall the services available here are excellent to help you, providing you are willing and able to help yourself. The cost of living is cheap, but you have to balance that with harsh weather swings in temps and the inability to get around easily, ie reach services without a car. I still love it.

I-Like-To-Bike

Probably because becoming carfree does not boost anyone's income (money received). It may reduce expenses, or alter the nature of them (public transportation vice personal vehicle expenses, or reduction in expenses for activities not attended due to inability to get there), but increase income? Not likely.

Roody

Same here. We have five holidays a year with no bus service. I have heard that this situation is very common in small and mid-size cities. I think most big cities cut back their service on major holidays.

Roody

Years ago, my son and I held a very modest "Bicycle Picnic". We made some sandwiches and kool-aid; got some chips and cookies. We also procured some trinkets from local bike shops--blinkies, tubes, chain lube, etc. We bought most of the stuff with our own money and money we mooched off friends. The bike shops also donated a few items.

We set up at a picnic table on the Rivertrail with a few balloons and a sign that said "Free picnic for anybody on a bike." Probably about 10 people showed up before we closed down. Mostly homeless people, but also a couple recreational riders from the trail. We fed everybody and gave out the bling as door prizes. It was actually pretty fun. Our main purpose was to give out the bike swag, which we had noticed a lot of the homeless people needed.

Our target audience was the homeless people, but we didn't advertise it that way. We just said it was for anybody on a bike. Most people would rather be invited to a party than receive a handout.

We always meant to do this again, but somehow it always slipped by. Maybe this summer, if my health is good enough...

Ekdog

Cutting back service is one thing, eliminating it entirely is another.

Artkansas 

I don't know. But as someone who uses the bus and has to work on Memorial Day, I'll ride my bicycle.

Artkansas 

I was in San Diego one Memorial Day. One of the lines that they didn't operate that day was the one that goes to the local military cemetary, Ft. Rosecrans. Ironic. I was mad, I wanted to go visit my grandfather and grandmother who are there.

Dahon.Steve

+1

In New Jersey, they restrict bikes on entering the commuter trains on holidays like Memorial day. Why? Because the trains are PACKED with people using them! It sad that cities in the US cut or eliminate service completely on holidays.

Dahon.Steve

We can get into semantics here but a redution in expenses results in an increase in income. This is actully a fundamental accouting principle!

It needs to be discussed in this manner.

Roody

What ticks me off about eliminating service on holidays is that it isn't even a good way to save money. For five holidays out of 365 days, the savings is 1.37%. They probably have to pay their personnel more to work on the holiday, so let's increase that by 50%, and the total savings is still only 2.05%. That just doesn't seem like enough to make it worthwhile. They could save a lot more by eliminating one of their low ridership suburban routes that don't serve any major destinations.

Ekdog

I stongly agree. +++

Roody

I agree also. In this context, to say you're "getting more income" is just a shortcut for saying you're "spending less on one thing so you have more to spend on everything else."

I-Like-To-Bike

You asked why there was no discussion about becoming carfree to boost your income. You were provided the obvious answer. However you can count on people on this list who are on your wavelength/interpretation of "accounting fundamentals" and New Age Economics to fabricate a "discussion" more to your liking.

Rowan

If that is fundamental accounting, then I would steer clear of the accountant. Or more bluntly, if that was the logic that was used in the US, little wonder the big lending crash occurred back in the late 2000s.

Fundamental accounting would have the bottom line or profit or surplus increasing. But unless there is an increase in income, you cannot interpret reduced expenses as providing that increased income.

All the reduction in expenses means is that there is an increase in what is referred to as "disposable income", but the money has to actually come into the hands of the individual before it can become disposable.

Artkansas 

I think that the real outrage is employers requiring their employees to work on a holiday. I support the bus service giving all of their employees a declared holiday off.

And yes, I realize that no matter what, there are some people like ICU nurses, paramedics, fire fighters etc that society needs even on holidays and that those people must work. But for so many people, employees of Mc Donalds, movie theaters, grocery stores etc., I think they should get the day off, rather than their employer chasing after money by depriving them of a holiday.

Ekdog

It's not only to get to work. Those car-free workers might want to visit family members or enjoy their holiday in other ways, and if the buses don't run, they'll be out of luck. I think there should at least be a skeleton crew of drivers working to provide minimum service.

Ekdog

I remember working in a supermarket on Thanksgiving Day back in the '70s. I was happy to do it because we got paid triple time for working on holidays.