mtay

Except that:
1. you would get killed trying to miss those trying to park. 2. taking kids on bikes ensures their death in the dark.

GodsBassist

1. I think he was talking about having no cars at the event and relying only on alternate methods to get 50k people to and from a single spot.

2. I take my kid on rides after dark, and he's survived every one so far.

wahoonc

Got any statistics to back up this claim?

I think if you do some research you will find a lot more kids are killed in car accidents than by cycling after dark.

Aaron

bhtooefr

I'd argue that Newark and Heath, OH have a far worse public transit system than any of those.

https://www.newarkohio.net/city-servi...ograms/transit

It's entirely oriented towards those that are unable to drive, and even then it's a pretty raw deal - you'd need to get 20 mpg when driving yourself for it to be at all cost-effective if elderly/disabled, 10 mpg if not, and that's using as far of a route as you can.

It essentially acts as a taxi service that can make stops and pick up other riders along the way, not a normal scheduled bus service - but with the inflexibility of a bus service.

Roody

If you'd take a few minutes to scroll through the forum before submitting your first message, you would discover that your fears of death while bicycling are greatly exaggerated.

mtay

Looks like NHTSA.gov says "The 677 pedalcyclist deaths in 2011 accounted for 2% of all traffic fatalities during the year." and "A total of 677 pedalcyclists were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2011. The 14-and-younger age group accounted for 9% of those fatalities, and males accounted for 69% of the fatalities among pedalcyclists age 14 and younger." So, very dangerous out there.
I have scrolled through, and my comment was meant a little bit tongue in cheek. That being said, watching fireworks ensures a massive amount of people and cars in one small area. All will be trying to move at one time. My fears are not exaggerated, even if my statement is an exaggeration. Every time I get on my bike and hit the road I ride with a healthy fear that every car is either going to intentionally hit me or accidentally hit me. With my kids, I have a greater fear that they are not as afraid as me and not as careful.

bhtooefr

1341 fatalities in the 0-15 age group, though, with 132 of those fatalities being pedalcyclists, 533 of them being occupants in a motor vehicle.

So, it's not just more dying in car crashes than dying cycling at dark, it's more dying in car crashes than dying (edit: I forgot, while cycling) period.

Jared.

Start a new thread instead of derailing this one. Especially when you make ridiculous unsubstantiated claims as you did in both of your previous posts.

My wife was telling me today that Toronto is having trouble implementing their new street cars because they are wider than the older ones, causing them to hit curbing on the raised platforms around the city. If that is true it is sorely dissapointing, being that an issue such as that should have been dealt with at a very early stage in the purchasing process.

Roody

One reason to take your bike is to get away more quickly after the fireworks. With the cars going that slowly, you probably won't be killed in the inevitable crash, merely maimed for life.

ka0use

i'm seeing only three plus us and canada here. and maybe i'm missing the definition of 'public transit'. is that something only owned by a civic authority? denver has leased routes/buses owned by veolia, first transit and maybe laidlaw. so i'm thinking those are privatised. ??

if i have that all wrong then disregard what follows.

morocco. once waited on the side of a rocky track for 3 days in the saharan sun
with a bunch of locals waiting for a bus. no one knew when or if it was due, but had faith that one day one would come. no other vehicles came by in that time.
still, i had a good time. there was a village ~6 miles away where i scored produce and
(probably re-) bottled water. i shared the oranges, became a local hero. didn't get sick.

albania.

mexico.

dude. actually i should group a whole buncha 3rd world countries together
regarding bus service. the buses're all on the brink of failing to proceed, they all have
chickens and goats and sheep. in the western hemisphere you can include pigs. critters and people inside and on the roof, all waaaaaaaaaaay overcrowded, all have screechy music, everybody and critters smell including myself, potential for bandits. and they were the nicest folks you could ever hope to meet.
folks who are truly poor, but will share their food.

doesn't take much to get the locals worked up. just get on and holler the equivalent of 'good morning!
(afternoon, whatever)', and the name of the country in the lingua franca and they just bust out smiles and holler it back at ya.

and the buses are painted wild, like 'further' the grateful dead bus.

bus etiquette is interesting. some countries you get on at the back,
pay your fare to a conductor who sits at a little desk, and exit the front.
some have roving conductors with a change thing like the ice cream truck
guys useta have. that's city buses. others, you pay the driver and unass the bus in whatever fashion suits- door or window.

potty stops. somebody'd holler at the driver, he'd stop (didn't have to pull over- middle of the desert or mountains, plus possibility for getting stuck in the sand or soft dirt, or on a cliff), several or a bunch of folks'd get off and find some privacy. several times i was left holding babies, then i'd get off when the moms came back. they were grateful. the babies'd get a sniff from mom and changed then if needed.
the babies'd stare at me- terminally sunburnt, wild red hair and the devil's eyes- blue. i'd sing stuff like 'me and bobby mcgee' to calm them. probably traumatised them for life...

Roody

Awesome trip! Would you have had as much fun and memories from a car trip?

(Not to nitpick, but it's "furthur". Ken Kesey didn't have auto-correct.)

ka0use

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!! my brain did the auto-correct! you made me screech!
dude, that just ain't right! maybe i was on an ANT-acid!! jeez, now i can't breathe!

Tyler Durden

Here in San Diego, the land of the automobile, we have pretty bad public transportation. They're trying to make it better by adding commuter trains. But more emphasis is put on adding lanes to freeways and building more roads.

Artkansas 

Did you read the link about Licking County Transit that bhtooefr shared. I lived in SD for 8 years, and was in SD last summer getting around by bus and light rail. Not so bad as Newark OH.

Ekdog

It's a hell of a lot better than it was when I lived there ('60s - '80's), when there was no light rail. The trolley cars have made the city a lot more livable, it seems to me.

By the way, welcome to the forum.

Roody

I lived in SD for a short time in the late '70s. I used the buses a lot, when I could afford it. I thought they were pretty good for that time. I remember a friend and I used to go to one of the beaches and dig clams for a free clam dinner. To carry them home, we would put them in our socks. The other passengers always got a kick out of that--tan hippie boys on the bus with socks full of clams.

Ekdog

Ha, ha! I'm from a youth ghetto called Ocean Beach. Our bus line, the #35 , was always the first one to face service cuts. Rich neighborhoods like La Jolla never seemed to be affected. I suppose they didn't want their maids and gardeners to be arriving late.

agent pombero

I'm very surprised TriMet (Portland, Oregon) isn't included on the list. TriMet once proudly claimed the crown to the #1 transit system in America, but these days the system is so broken & nearly worthless that it doesn't make much sense to use it.

Artkansas 

Yeah, the #30 is always packed. Once, the driver got lost in La Jolla and in UCSD. The passengers were giving him heck, they couldn't afford to be late. They were even talking about it days later.

Roody

We used to go to Ocean Beach a lot--Michigan boys digging on the beach scene. (People talked different back then.)

I had a job in a northern suburb for a minute. The bus took me most of the way, but I had to walk the last couple miles. It was straight up a big hill on a brand new highway--6 lanes with no sidewalk or shoulder, and desert brush growing in the roadside that forced you to walk in the traffic lane and pray for mercy. That part was not carfree friendly, but being from Detroit I was used to that.

Dahon.Steve

I tried to read the article again and thought it was silly. He picked Los Angeles as the #1 worst public transit system. So I visted the LA Metro home page and expected to see maybe half a dozen bus lines with very little service. I also expected to see little or no rail lines since the writer slamed the subway system. Here's what I found out.

1. LA Metro - I found 191 time tables for bus service alone! Some bus lines had incredible service during rush hour with 10 minute wait times! A number were still in service after midnight providing 24 around the clock service. It was very similar to New York City bus lines with hundreds of stops. What more could you ask for?

2. There were six metro lines and I was impressed to see service still operating at 15 minute intervals after 12:00 midnight! HOLY COW! Can we please have this in New Jersey! LOL! This is a carfree dream.

3. They didn't have a monthly card but the fare was cheap, only $1.50 for the bus or train. I didn't see how far it would take you but it was probably under 5 miles. Not bad at all.

I don't know what the writer didn't see in LA's transit system. I doubt he even visited the website because there was plenty of service other than the subway to nowwhere he complained about. The article was a big time fail.

cacher

Ooops, backup, you forgot the Colorado Springs, Colorado bus transit system.