JoeyMac

https://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/18/tra....ap/index.html

Not one mention of the Bicycle as a possible option for commuters. A shame.

kjohnnytarr

Same old story. I think maybe bikes are never mentioned in these because riding bikes doesn't really generate any money for people outside of the bike-bubble. Whereas cars, public transit, etc. all make sure that money gets spread around. Know what I mean?

bpohl

Now that would just be unamerican to suggest more intelligent development, cyclo commuting, or anything besides "adding capcity".

bmike

as soon as we had the chance we took a car to the moon. are we surprised by our car head design and planning?

derath

I am guessing/hoping you are not being completely serious with this example. The lunar astronauts had enough trouble walking in those suits. I am sure they could have ridden bikes in low gravity as well without ANY trouble.

As to the article. It is a shame that they don't even mention bicycles. But at the same the bicycle isnt a cure-all. I know I spend at least that long in traffic per year. Probably more. Nature of the beast. Not all jobs are ones you can bike to.

-D

bmike

when you're a hammer everything looks like a nail.

Artkansas 

At the same time, that is just a perception. If there were lots of bicycles, all that bicycle money would flow around just as well as car money. It's just who it flows to...

Artkansas 

Once for a thought experiment, I did the math and it seemed reasonable that with the lunar gravity, no air resistance, a good rider, a lunar bicycle with massively infinite gearing and a good long ramp that a bicyclist could achieve liftoff with their own power. I'm sure someone may prove me wrong one day, but its a neat thing to think about.

evblazer

I know this post was supposed to be pro bicycle but I think I'm going to go by myself a car, or at least a motorcycle.

If all goes well I'll spend 660 hours bicycle commuting in a year.
It would be 293 or less by car.. Even if we double the 38 hours wasted that makes it 369 hours.

I waste 291 hours riding a bicycle a year by commuting by bike

It isn't doing me much good healthwise anyways. I just got told I need to go on a low cholesterol diet now even though I'm averaging over 200 miles a week and don't eat fast food.

andmalc

Eat whole grains and learn to cook locally grown food from scratch (vs. processed, packaged foods) and you'll be OK - no need to diet.

Doug5150

Yes but the key question here you missed: does using a car and wasting 38 hours a year still end up being faster than riding a bicycle would be for these people?
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lyeinyoureye

It's all about who the money flows to. Think about the drop in mortality rate, decrease in health costs, etc. Think of how much money is saved via the population dropping dead on average 10 years earlier from social security, pensions, etc. Work 'em hard when ya do, and make sure they don't stick around very long after. Profit isn't made from happy people.

donnamb 

I can only speak for my own experience, but I've been without a car for 2 years and lost over 50 lbs and returned to a normal blood pressure in the 18 months since I started biking. I really don't do all that much riding beyond my work commute and running errands. I haven't had to join a gym, either. For me, those hours on a bike are not wasted.

syn0n

The report on the local news tonight said the average Albuquerque driver spends wastes 36 hours a year in traffic (slightly below the average, I guess) but even so, at worst my commute is about 1 hour and 15 minutes but it's usually more like 40 minutes. By bike alone it would probably take at least 2 and a half hours if I was really fast, probably more than that though.

Bike commuting is great for big cities and short distances. But when you've got to go 30 miles one way, not so much. If I made my commute by bike I'd be leaving the house by 4am and spending 5-6 hours a day on the bike.

evblazer

Funny thing is I changed my diet about a month ago. I didn't eat much if any meat before then but I eat almost all my calories from unprocessed food and whole grains now with no fast food. I wish I had a test 3 months ago to see what my cholesterol was back then.

I took a different route home today from work and sadly it isn't at all bike friendly. For most I don't see bikes doing it, where it can though it is great to see. I think "improving public transportation and changing driving patterns through flexible work schedules, telecommuting and carpooling." especially work schedules/telecommuting could help a great deal

Dahon.Steve

USA Today said the study came up with three solutions.

>>>>>>>
Texas Transportation Institute, a research arm of Texas A&M University. Instead, researchers recommend many steps:

•Businesses can help reduce travel during peak hours by letting employees work earlier or later shifts and offering them other flexible work options.

•Commuters should use the telephone or Internet instead of making some trips, travel in off-peak hours and use public transportation or carpools.

•Transportation agencies must improve the efficiency of existing road and transit systems and add capacity where needed.

>>>>>>>>>>.

First of all, most business operate between 9 to 5 and workers coming in early means they will start before working hours and leave early? Workers starting work late during prime business hours (means lost business) and leaving work late when most activity is over and their services are not needed is also not desirable. Bottom line, flexible work hours are not attractive to business which is why few companies offer them.

Second, the concept of "Working at home" is also not attractive to business. The overwhelming majority of business activity require that you have a physical presense at their location. Public transportation is a good idea but it requires costly investment and remains underfunded in most cities. Cities do not want to invest in these services and prefer to build more highways.

Third, increasing more efficiency by building more roads is a joke.

adgrant

It may have more to do with the fact that for many commuters, a bike will never be a viable option. If you live an hour away from work by car, getting there by bike might be tough. Also most people aren't going to want to cycle to work in a New England winter or an Mississippi summer.

Cycling at night isn't always safe either. I used to commute to work by bike in the UK and it could get scary at times. Cycling works best were the distances aren't large and the weather is reasonable. Public transport is going to be a better alternative for most people assuming the mass transit schedules mesh with work schedules and the home and work locations are close to mass transit.

This is a bike forum but the majority of people living car free in the U.S. are probably living in a dense urban area with pedestrian friendly streets, great mass transit, convenient access to cabs and/or rental cars and most importantly; horrifically expensive parking. In places where the parking is cheap, you are probably going to find more car light than car free people.

ukie

Instead of turning into a hampster on a treadmill for 1 hour a day (absolutely pointless), biking is a much better alternative + fresh air instead of stinky air of local gyms.

JoeyMac

I wasn't trying to suggest that everyone give up their cars and ride for two hours to work every morning, I am just saying that if at least some, a few, a couple of those motorists who didn't have that far to go, maybe just a couple miles, just got off their lazy ass and rode a bike to work instead, everyone would benefit, including themselves.

gwd

The radio reported this morning that people in the DC area waste 60 hours per year in their cars.

Gustavo

Well, let's not forget that the bicycle industry wouldn't generate a tenth of what the car industry generates, even if everyone used bicycles. a bike is much cheaper, requires no fuel and is easy to repair on the cheap. That's the real reason. Plus people are lazy.

Gustavo

Funnily enough, this is just the opposite of the reason why I have considered using threadmills for the first time ever (nothing could be sillier than a threadmill). The thing is, I live in Moscow!

evblazer

If you call car exhaust and ozone alert days fresh air I get plenty on my 3 hour round trip bicycle commute. I like the treadmill or elipse because I can watch my favorite show, check my email or have a chat which I guess I could do on a bike too but I might miss my bailout que to avoid an inattentive driver.

I gotta go to the gym for weight work anyhow, by bicycle.

Earth1tree23

Wow-38 hours only? I tell you, if I take my car to work and back I lose between 2 and 4 hours a day. This is extra time it would take me to get there, as the bike only takes up to an hour. On a yearly basis of a 3 hour average loss this would work out at 5x3x45=675. 675 HOURS LOST. More than my entire holiday entitlement! Mind you, this is urban traffic. But still...675 hours? I'd rather cycle...

Doug5150

The most fuel-efficient vehicle you can get right now is a gas-engine motorized bicycle, and many will top out near or over 30 mph... IF they're legal where you live (which I believe they are in NM).

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The motorized-bike forum here only seems to focus on electric bikes, which is rather an uninformed shame.
Electric-powered bicycles are impractical for the same exact reasons that electric cars are--relatively high costs and low operating ranges. The only type of electric vehicle that has ever gained widespread acceptance is trains--which run off of overhead wires, and so aren't limited by battery capacities.
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