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When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

toddwschneider.com

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Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#101

Post by InitialLastName »

jdanp wrote: post #31

I live in the East Village and am convinced that cyclists in New York City have no regard for human life. The NYPD seems to be cracking down on their lawless behavior, but I think a push away from cycling and towards ride-sharing (a la Via) is the solution for our transit issue. With our broken subway system and high volume of cabs, ubers, etc; it is clear that New York is a driving city - but not a parking city.

> cyclists in New York City have no regard for human life.

I'll meet your anecdata with the data that cyclists aren't the ones killing people. The folks doing the killing are frequently your beloved cab drivers (and charter buses).

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#102

Post by matt4077 »

Chathamization wrote: post #68
verelo wrote: post #20

Not much love for biking here; You'd almost think that most of the people on Hacker News are from Californian suburbs... Seriously though, biking in cities is great. It's one of those critical mass problems where the more people that do it the better the infrastructure gets, the more aware drivers become and there is a herd mentality where bikers tend to flow together making them more predictable and therefore safer…

> i probably drive more than bike, depends on the weather and somewhat the mood i'm in A lot of bikers won't bike when the weather reaches a certain point (too cold, too much rain). This means that even if you build infrastructure for bikes, you're still going to have to build just as much throughput for other modes of transportation as you did before (they have to handle situations where no one is biking).

Many transits are actually flexible, and people can react to weather and traffic conditions by postponing or canceling their plans. Often, that's exactly what happens completely independent from the transport options because, for example, any outdoor activity is going to be less fun when it's cold and rainy.

If you somehow get people to try, they also discover that biking in really bad conditions is actually quite a lot of fun, provided you are wearing the right clothes. In the cold, your usual jacket is almost always enough because you're exercising anyway, but you'll need the best gloves and hat you can find. The days where I got to work in a snowstorm are actually my most productive :)

The real problem in bad weather conditions is that the threat from cars is amplified: it's usually dark in winter, snow and rain further deteriorate visibility, and snow/ice are dangerous because both bikes and cars are less predictable. Bikes are also extremely vulnerable to blocks of hardened snow that often get shoved right onto their usual path by cars.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#103

Post by btbuildem »

dr_ wrote: post #4

As a pedestrian crossing the straw in NYC, you will typically wait for cars to stop, then walk about 2/3 of the way into the street, then peer into the bike lane to make sure no bikes are coming, then complete your crossing. Most of the bikers, from my experience, do not follow rules such as stopping at a Stop sign or for pedestrians or at their own bike designated stop lights. It may be nice to bike in the cities pa…

You cannot seriously expect the rules of the road to be the same for multi-ton vehicles capable of 50+ mph speeds and human-powered vehicles that weigh 200lbs tops / max out at 20 mph.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#104

Post by hahamrfunnyguy »

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #87
dkhenry wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I have found is there is a tiny minority of people who _hate_ bikers. They tend to pop up and make wild claims about how dangerous bikers are, or how much they dislike how bikers use the streets since streets are for cars, and bikes are for children. What I have found in actually talking to people is most people support and encourage bikes, and would love to bike, but don't feel safe. Bikes make everything about…

>most bikers observe the traffic laws Not in Philadelphia, at least. I walk everywhere, and racking my brain for bike encounters I can only recall one of maybe 20 instances in which a bike actually stopped at a red light. I can recall at least a third of those instances where bikes were travelling the wrong way on a one way street, and another third with bikes on the sidewalk. That being said, I still think biking is…

I obey traffic laws when it is safe to do so. There are some dangerous interections around here where the bike lane disappears then starts up again. If you ride with the traffic as you're supposed to, cars behind will try to pass in the middle of the intersection. In those cases, sometimes I will ride up on the sidewalk to bypass the dangerous part of the itnersection. I would feel better if there was a separate light in the bike lane that allowed the bikes to proceed first.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#105

Post by shazow »

marak830 wrote: post #3

Do people use bikes to get anywhere faster? I would use one to save on emissions and/or get some much needed exercis edit: so many replies! I guess I stand corrected, although the more I think about it, the less I'm surprised. I live in Japan, obviously known for its public transport. Interesting to note though once I travel abroad, thanks for the replies everyone :-)

Anecdote in Toronto: I bike to a beach volleyball game with some friends from the same place in the downtown core. It takes me 16 minutes to get there by bike, it takes the rest of the team about 30-45 minutes to get there by car.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#106

Post by antisthenes »

dilatedmind wrote: post #27
dr_ wrote: post #4

As a pedestrian crossing the straw in NYC, you will typically wait for cars to stop, then walk about 2/3 of the way into the street, then peer into the bike lane to make sure no bikes are coming, then complete your crossing. Most of the bikers, from my experience, do not follow rules such as stopping at a Stop sign or for pedestrians or at their own bike designated stop lights. It may be nice to bike in the cities pa…

It's a similar situation in Philly, every day I watch bikers run red lights and stop signs or speeding in a 25. I've yet to see a cop pull over someone on a bike

> It's a similar situation in Philly, every day I watch bikers run red lights and stop signs or speeding in a 25.

I've yet to see a vehicle not speeding in a 25. It's honestly infuriating when people are actually going 24 in a 25, because despite these limits being in a mostly urban area, there are almost zero pedestrians there and it's a 3 lane wide road in good condition.

How much can a bike possibly be speeding in a 25 to be a danger? 28mph? Come on.

Running a red light is a big no-no however.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#107

Post by njarboe »

verelo wrote: post #20

Not much love for biking here; You'd almost think that most of the people on Hacker News are from Californian suburbs... Seriously though, biking in cities is great. It's one of those critical mass problems where the more people that do it the better the infrastructure gets, the more aware drivers become and there is a herd mentality where bikers tend to flow together making them more predictable and therefore safer…

Oakland has installed a bunch of "Ford bikes". I thought about using them the other day for a quick one way trip and to check out how they work. $10 a day minimum cost. Is it similar with Citi bikes in NYC? Why not have a one or two dollar an hour option, especially outside of commute hours and weekends.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#108

Post by hamburglar1 »

As a NYer it's pretty clear that going cross town on a bike or skate board will be faster than a car, especially during rush hour. Moving through tight areas like Soho and Greenwich village, I would say that a skateboard is probably the fastest. I still can't tell if a skate board is safer than a bike. Absolutely more fun though

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#109

Post by Kalium »

dkhenry wrote: post #59
verelo wrote: post #20

Not much love for biking here; You'd almost think that most of the people on Hacker News are from Californian suburbs... Seriously though, biking in cities is great. It's one of those critical mass problems where the more people that do it the better the infrastructure gets, the more aware drivers become and there is a herd mentality where bikers tend to flow together making them more predictable and therefore safer…

What I have found is there is a tiny minority of people who _hate_ bikers. They tend to pop up and make wild claims about how dangerous bikers are, or how much they dislike how bikers use the streets since streets are for cars, and bikes are for children. What I have found in actually talking to people is most people support and encourage bikes, and would love to bike, but don't feel safe. Bikes make everything about…

As a pedestrian in a dense Californian urban core, I have mixed feelings about bikers.

Most bikers are reasonable, sensible bicycle commuters. They stay in the road, wear helmets, and follow laws. No skin off my nose. (ecologically friendly, fights obesity, blah blah blah blah blah)

But I've also had multiple encounters with bicyclists who feel they are entitled to switch back and forth between a wheeled vehicle moving significantly above normal walking speeds and a pedestrian who just happens to be on a bicycle. Usually with no notice and as is convenient for them. Not infrequently such enhanced-pedestrians can top 20 mph barreling down the sidewalk. Sometimes with cargo in tow. I have literally never even heard of there being any real consequences for such irresponsible and reckless behavior.

I understand why they do it. It's so convenient! Roads certainly aren't always designed for the safety of bicyclists. Yet, these are perhaps less than adequate reasons for irresponsible behavior.

More troubling to me is the role bicycles seem to play in the underground economy of the Bay. But that seems more an issue stemming from law enforcement's general disinclination to be interested in bikes and bikers at all.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#110

Post by antisthenes »

kazinator wrote: post #92
francisofascii wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't make sense to penalize bikes the same way as cars. A car is deadly, a bike isn't. It would be like assigning the same penalty to throwing a punch and a gun shot.

You can definitely kill someone with a bicycle. And a punch. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/gay-basher-ge... http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/10/stanley-park-pedestrian-d... This is just recent local news from my neck of the woods, off the top of my head.

Just because you can do it, doesn't mean it has anywhere the same likelihood of happening. Not even sure what argument you're trying to make.

This is why concealed guns are banned in most states and fists aren't.

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