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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

#271

Post by gerbilly »

viraptor wrote: post #265
gerbilly wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> most bikers observe the traffic laws Why the fixation with traffic laws whenever bikes come up? I bike to work and I don't follow the rules, I run reds, blow stop signs, ride on the sidewalks and so on. However, I am courteous and polite to everyone. My goal is to not startle or inconvenience any other user of the road (or sidewalk). Why should I stop at stop signs like a boyscout? That's just false piety. The rule…

You are why we can't have nice things. If you don't follow the rules, others don't know what to expect from you. That means you are more likely to cause an accident. You're right the rules weren't designed in a perfect world - if it was perfect, nobody would have accidents. Instead we need rules so you know what others are likely to do.

Meh, I'm courteous and watching for people as I said above. There is no problem.

I found that for many people this concept makes them feel uncomfortable, and that they then explain that discomfort by appealing to rules.

I remain unmoved.

IMHO we need less rules, not more.

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

#272

Post by e40 »

sireat wrote: post #179
e40 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I have found is there is a tiny minority of people who _hate_ bikers. I walk 4 miles a day on city sidewalks. The number of times I have to yield to bikers on the sidewalk is disgusting[0]. And some of these bikers are going fast . I once saved a child that was about to run out of a store. I could see, from my vantage point, the biker and the child set for a collision course. I stepped in front of the biker, doi…

When I am a pedestrian I would much rather take my chances with a inconsiderate biker than a inconsiderate car driver. Bikers killing someone are extremely rare. Bikers getting killed by drivers is more common (citation needed). When I am biking I'd much rather be riding slowly on a sidewalk than getting killed by a inconsiderate driver. Where I live it is legal to ride on sidewalks in streets with no bike lines. So…

When I am a pedestrian I would much rather take my chances with a inconsiderate biker than a inconsiderate car driver.

It's not a choice. Every pedestrian must deal with both.

When I am biking I'd much rather be riding slowly on a sidewalk than getting killed by a inconsiderate driver.

Here's the thing: the amount of risk you are comfortable with is probably different than it is for me. What bikers who ride on the sidewalk are doing is forcing their risk tolerance on me. Given where I walk it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk, I feel a certain amount of righteousness in asking bikers to get off the sidewalk.

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

#273

Post by revelation »

belorn wrote: post #133
e40 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I have found is there is a tiny minority of people who _hate_ bikers. I walk 4 miles a day on city sidewalks. The number of times I have to yield to bikers on the sidewalk is disgusting[0]. And some of these bikers are going fast . I once saved a child that was about to run out of a store. I could see, from my vantage point, the biker and the child set for a collision course. I stepped in front of the biker, doi…

Im surprised to hear about bike and pedestrian collision in a city. I bike each day and commonly see on bike roads everything from strollers, wheelchairs, to kids who has only barely learned to walk. Each of those would be a fatal if they had a collision with a 20mph biker, and yet not a single death have been reported in my city as far as I know. Its a bit strange, given the number of potential times that this situa…

Why would you think a 20 mph collision with a bike is likely to be fatal? Even a car ped collision at 20 mph is quite survivable; that's why mostly evidence governed countries like Sweden have 20 mph limits, as you get faster you may save time linearly (doubtful in a city, your average is way down there) but chance of survival diminishes by the square.

That said, it happens, but only on the order of 1 or 2 deaths, and in some years none at all. The incidence is extremely low so no meaningful statistics. And then of course it mostly involves an old population who are susceptible to dieing from even a simple fall after stumbling on a tree root. It tells us more about the elderly than risk of cycle collisions.

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

#274

Post by Kalium »

belorn wrote: post #269
_jal wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would be very surprised to see that on a side walk I don't walk to work with a radar gun, but sidewalk-bikes barreling down on me are a daily occurrence (San Francisco). Not people coasting down the block, people actively pumping and dodging. I've been run over by a bike twice, and while I'll take that any day vs. a car, those shitheads need to stay off the sidewalk. I am very pro-bike. I road one to work daily,…

Is that down a big hill? Naturally local phenomenon can be at any part of a variance, but it seems very odd. Even on a large stretch of leveled road, few bikes get close to 15 mph and the only time I have seen one go faster is from a professional biker, on a racing bicycle, doing a training run, and I would assume that their training paths don't generally include cargo and sidewalks. The average bike speed, as far as…

San Francisco has a number of large hills and other slopes where natural local phenomena can significantly enhance velocity.

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

#275

Post by skatestuff »

I ride a bike in NYC. If you accept being sweaty in the summer and risk getting hit in certain areas, then you'll have a blast riding. Otherwise it's a burden. In my opinion, biking is one of the fastest forms of transportation when traveling <40 blocks. Also, Citi Bikes are lunky. I hate riding them.

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

#276

Post by anonu »

From the article:

> The same regression applied to Citi Bikes shows no such slowdown over time, in fact Citi Bikes got slightly faster.

I suspect this is mainly due to better bikes. I've been a yearly subscriber to Citibike since the very beginning - and I can attest that the quality of the system and the bikes has improved tremendously since inception. Quality of the bikes is judged in part by their durability and sturdiness of individual items - but also the gearing. The newest bikes have the NuVinci continuous variable gear system - which is amazing to use but also allows you to get into a lot higher gear than the original bikes.

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

#277

Post by dkhenry »

lettergram wrote: post #190
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…

> Bikes make everything about traffic better, and most bikers observe the traffic laws. In California, bikes seemed alright enough. Lane splitting is legal, most use bike lanes, etc. That being said, bikes are supposed to act like a vehicle on the road. I.e. stop at stop signs, and go through the stop signs one at a time. Not once have I ever seen this happen. There's also stopping at lights, which happens usually, b…

I don't want to negate your personal experiences, since they sound pretty horrific, but from a data perspective, I can't find a single person who was killed by a cyclist in California since 2014. They might be there, but considering the amount of coverage I am finding of the crash in 2014 and another in 2012 I am led to believe they don't happen that often. In 2015 alone San Francisco reports 24 deaths due to cars. So while you personally might have had some bad experiences, the majority of bikers are following the rules and people are safer as a result of them biking.

I would be a huge fan of collecting additional data as I am a firm believer that we would see trend lines down where we invest in infrastructure and where biking become more popular.

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

#278

Post by toxik »

anthonybsd wrote: post #135
staticelf wrote: post #97

I'm from Sweden and have been biking in NYC as a tourist. I must say, it is one of the most scariest places I have biked in my life. Huge cars, almost no biking lanes, a lot of people and other traffic. I admit I was also a bit drunk but still, in Stockholm we have biking lanes almost everywhere and you feel a lot safer. Also there is a lot more people that use the bike when you give them a lane to bike on. Please, c…

> Huge cars, almost no biking lanes, a lot of people and other traffic. When were you in NYC? We have more bike lanes than Stockholm these days. :) Proof: http://www.amny.com/transit/new-york-city-to-reach-1-000-mil... vs http://www.fourteenislands.com/bicycle-paths/

As an avid bicycler and Swedish expat in Taiwan I gotta say I think one of the key things to feeling safe biking in Stockholm and Sweden in general is that Swedes are _fantastic_ at following traffic rules. Very predictable drivers. The Taiwanese bikes and scooters, on the other hand, act like schools of fish. Predictable as a mass but not as units.

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

#279

Post by timthelion »

lettergram wrote: post #190
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…

> Bikes make everything about traffic better, and most bikers observe the traffic laws. In California, bikes seemed alright enough. Lane splitting is legal, most use bike lanes, etc. That being said, bikes are supposed to act like a vehicle on the road. I.e. stop at stop signs, and go through the stop signs one at a time. Not once have I ever seen this happen. There's also stopping at lights, which happens usually, b…

I agree with your idea that bicyclists need to be educated. As a non-car driver, I remember the first time I went riding in the city with my wife she was shocked that I didn't know how to make a legal left turn. But how was I supposed to know? It is not like the logic behind left turn rules is obvious.

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

#280

Post by astannard »

verelo wrote: post #38
astannard wrote: post #16

I have been comparing biking and driving to work in Derby (UK) for my 7 mile commute. Biking can be quicker for me depending on traffic. I have just ordered an ebike that should shift the odds more in favour of this bike. I always feel better having commuted on bike though

I wish you luck with the ebike, but personally i feel like they're problematic. It could just be our roads here though; the issue I find is that they're too fast for bike lanes [risk to cyclists], but too slow for the road [cars frequently pass them at higher speeds and very close-by]. It seems like everyone is frustrated and the ebikers are just being pushed around by everyone.

In the UK they are limited to 25km/h in the USA it's 32 km/h. Although a lot of grey market imports are much faster
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