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Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

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Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#141

Post by abeppu »

> colleagues and I reveal that people who walk or cycle have lower carbon footprints from daily travel, including in cities where lots of people are already doing this.

Not to disagree with the broader point, but I think it's worth distinguishing "travel" from "transportation". I don't have a car, and I bike and walk for almost all of my daily personal "travel". But, I think this also makes me more willing to use delivery services, in which case I'm offloading some carbon footprint to trucks and vans which might not be counted as part of my "daily travel". Part of the appearance of reduced emissions can come from sweeping some emissions into a different category.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#142

Post by samcheng »

I'm surprised at all of the anti-cycling sentiment here.

It's really a better mode of transportation than the car, in certain situations. It's healthy, relaxing, good for traffic and the environment, and convenient for short trips.

The article isn't saying that you need to ditch the car for a bakfiets, just that you can have a significant positive impact by doing SOME of your trips via bicycle. Remember that most car trips are with a single driver and no passenger, and are short trips around town.

Give it a shot!

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#143

Post by jedberg »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #128
jtdev wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How will good be moved? How will the infirm get around? I admire the cyclist ideal that they are fixing the problems of the world by not driving/owning cars... but it seems like a very superficial, quasi-moralistic solution that's really not likely to have the impact that is desired/needed.

Lower one’s expectations of quality of life and consume less.

I don’t want to lower my quality of life so far that I can’t get an ambulance or have to be homebound once I can no longer walk.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#144

Post by djrogers »

burlesona wrote: post #29
m463 wrote: post #5

I wonder if telecommuting like many are doing right now trumps everything .

Unfortunately, no. Surprisingly, telecommuters appear to drive more than office workers: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S09658...

That study is either flawed, misinterpreted, or does not apply to American workers. The average US commute is 32 miles round trip, and that happens every work day.

There is just no possible way that everyone is now driving Every other look at this, including things like the Apple Maps reports and government stats have shown that miles driven is way down. In fact I know a lot of families who have had to buy battery tenders for one of their cars because it's sitting unused so much.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#145

Post by cameronh90 »

jtdev wrote: post #74
cameronh90 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

15 miles is not that far. 45 minutes with a US (20MPH) e-bike. Average commute is 30 mins each way. And that's time you don't have to spend at the gym now.

You going to shower at work? How do you get your kids to school? Are you going to put them on the handlebars?

"You going to shower at work?"

Yes? Or alternatively just dry off and change clothes.

"How do you get your kids to school?"

Kids here take the school bus - or indeed cycle to school. I cycled to school from about age 6.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#146

Post by estebank »

jtdev wrote: post #108
agumonkey wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey, without cars we would need no lanes.

How will good be moved? How will the infirm get around? I admire the cyclist ideal that they are fixing the problems of the world by not driving/owning cars... but it seems like a very superficial, quasi-moralistic solution that's really not likely to have the impact that is desired/needed.

More people on bikes doesn't mean all people on bikes.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#147

Post by soperj »

saiya-jin wrote: post #124
ab111111111 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What major investment would be required from the city or developers to set up cycling infrastructure? Painting some cycle lanes onto the roads? Marking a few car parking places as bike parking places? That's all that cycling infrastructure really is, so it's super cheap. A lot cheaper than, say, building charging stations for electric cars.

Often in old European cities there is no space to take away from, unless you cut from pedestrian side, or rebuild whole block to have wider gap. Or you completely remove that single one way lane, and good bye resupplies for the shops/restaurants and good luck to those poor folks that will move in/away. The bigger the city, usually the older it is, and center looks like this - tons of single lane one-ways. US roads al…

In the Netherlands they turn those single one way lanes into bike first streets.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#148

Post by trulyme »

flaque wrote: post #92
the_duke wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ebikes mostly solve 1, 2, 3 and 6 on your list. They are quite fast, require very little physical effort, and have a small fraction of the energy consumption of a car. And you can still get the health benefit by investing as much muscle work as you want to.

I’m convinced most people haven’t realized just how good ebikes have gotten. ~$1000 gets you basically a slow, mini-motorcycle. It’s dramatically cheaper than a car, longer range than a bike, and wonderful in cities.

I would be worried about leaving it unattended though. Are anti-stealing systems any good these days?

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#149

Post by estebank »

jedberg wrote: post #143
lotsofpulp wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lower one’s expectations of quality of life and consume less.

I don’t want to lower my quality of life so far that I can’t get an ambulance or have to be homebound once I can no longer walk.

More people on bikes means fewer cars. Coupled with frequent public transport means that your ambulance will not be stuck in traffic and that the bus that lets you not be homebound will take as long as the car you currently drive to get to the same places. And if you still need to drive, you will still be able to, it just won't be the only option available.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#150

Post by stfp »

jedberg wrote: post #35

Switching from gas to electric is something I can do all on my own. Switching from gas car to cycling is something that would require major investments from my city and developers. Both are noble goals, but let's not let perfect be the enemy of good. Switch to electric now, and also encourage new roads and new developments to be bike friendly, so that switching to a bike is something that will be viable in 20 or 30 y…

But it doesn't require major investments. It's really minor investments compared to other infrastructure projects. The issue is taking away even a tiny fraction of car space basically triggers some kind of political road rage.
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