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Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

forbes.com

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Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#171

Post by throwaway_ab »

raphaelj wrote: post #36

Somewhat unrelated to the article, but I live in a mid-size EU city and dumped my car for an e-bike a few months ago. Surprisingly, it hasn't been that hard (my GF kept her car, and I have a car-sharing subscription): Pros: - Immediately stopped having insomnia. Better feel overall; - about €300/month in additional disposable income. That's basically a free lunch everyday! - significantly faster if parking is taken i…

Did you put theft under the wrong heading?

I've had many bikes stolen and everyone I know who rides has at least one bike stolen.

I've never had anything stolen from my car and no issues with car theft, and I don't know anyone who has had their car stolen.

I've met two people in my life who have had items stolen from their car, and in both cases they left their car unlocked.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#172

Post by abricq »

This news literally makes me so happy. I can't wait to see it propagating around the world ! Riding a bike it better for your health, for the environment, makes cities much safer places, better for your mood as well & even better for your wallet. For people who have the chance to work reasonably close to their work, it's THE perfect solution.

I bike to work every day since 4/5 years, in Switzerland. Since roughly 18 months, I have seen a huge change in the behavior of car drivers: they are much much nicer to interact with. Before COVID, I had dangerous interaction with drivers several time a week, and had to be in constant vigilance for them not considering me as part of the traffic. Now, it has been reduced to maybe once a month. Sometimes I don't even believe how well people respect us now, considering how it was just 3 years ago. And most of the time when I confront people that did something dangerous, they are sorry and feel bad about it (it really wasn't like this a few years ago...)

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#173

Post by mschuster91 »

waldothedog wrote: post #137
britzkopf wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't have to worry about theft?! Wow, Europe must be so different than North America. I'm much more worried about my biker being stolen (has happened about a dozen times in my life) than my car. If the former happens you get absolutely zero support, while if the latter happens the police will actually try to do something.

A dozen times? Damn, where do you live if you don’t mind me asking?

Probably Amsterdam, where 80.000 bikes are stolen per year [1] - at 821k inhabitants, one in ten will statistically have a bike stolen each year.

The country is on its best way to become Europe's head narco state.

[1] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#174

Post by pclmulqdq »

ghusto wrote: post #99

My main transportation vehicle for anything under 15km is a bicycle. I go through rain, ice, snow — doesn't make a difference to me, I'll be cycling. Yes, I've cycled through storms, can't see what the fuss is about really. I would still never cycle in London. It doesn't have proper cycle infrastructure, just some painted lines on roads designed for cars. You're taking your life in your hands there. The car drivers a…

This isn't about London. This is about the City of London, which is about 2 square km in the heart of London (and a separate city). The City of London is incredibly driver-hostile and pedestrian-friendly, so I was personally surprised that this hadn't happened already.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#175

Post by pastage »

bowsamic wrote: post #125
fipar wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About not killing someone if you ride after drinking, Obviously it is ver difficult for a bike to directly kill someone other than the rider (as opposed to a car, where this is very easy), but a drunk cyclist can still hurt other people directly or indirectly (causing a bigger accident by forcing someone to avoid them). Even on a city free of private cars, you’d still share the road with pedestrians, other cyclists,…

It's also very illegal to bike when drunk where I live in Germany

Not in Sweden and we have less accidents than Germany.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#176

Post by nonethewiser »

raphaelj wrote: post #87
jraby3 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve had 5 bikes stolen and no cars stolen, so have to disagree about worrying about theft.

Well, my bike is insured, and I bought a recently released angle grinder-resistant lock [1]. My workspace is also fairly well located so that also helps. [1] https://eu.litelok.com/products/litelok-x1

Insurance won’t get you to work.

And if you don’t need it to get to work you don’t need a car in the first place, so I wouldnt see a point in comparing.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#178

Post by lrem »

mrpopo wrote: post #53
raphaelj wrote: post #36

Somewhat unrelated to the article, but I live in a mid-size EU city and dumped my car for an e-bike a few months ago. Surprisingly, it hasn't been that hard (my GF kept her car, and I have a car-sharing subscription): Pros: - Immediately stopped having insomnia. Better feel overall; - about €300/month in additional disposable income. That's basically a free lunch everyday! - significantly faster if parking is taken i…

1 car/household is still entirely feasible with children (and the norm for many lower-class in Europe). We live with 1 child and no car and it's been working fine thus far. You have to be careful about where you live and work though, but I'd say the added quality of life of living car-free (in a car-free city) is all worth it.

I find it a bit funny you mention "lower-class" here. Of the seven first software engineers with kids I thought of, six have one car and one has none.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#179

Post by mjhay »

sandworm101 wrote: post #81
alkjsdlkjasd wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - weather might make the ride unpleasant; As the Dutch like to say: there is no such thing as bad cycling weather, only bad cycling clothes. I would strongly recommond a pair of water/wind proof trousers to go over your regular trousers, if you don't already have some. This has lead to a much more pleasant riding experience, especially in winter. They aren't very practical on a regular bike as they make you uncomfo…

>> As the Dutch like to say: there is no such thing as bad cycling weather, only bad cycling clothes. Easy to say in a country famously flat, small, and with a relatively narrow weather window. I welcome any Dutch person to attempt a 15+km commute during a rocky mountain winter. I know of driveways in US/Canada with more vertical than any Dutch commute.

Minneapolis is one of the top US cities for cycling mode share. You can bike in snow+ice with proper studded tires. With a fat bike, you'll do better than any car or truck in deep snow.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#180

Post by ClapperHeid »

lscdlscd wrote: post #126
bartread wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whilst I'm overall in favour of promoting cycling as a way of getting around, in preference to motor vehicles, I'm not sure I entirely agree with "safer". I live in Cambridge and have lost count of the number of times I've had to contend with cyclists blowing through pedestrian crossings on a red light (or zebra crossings at any time) when I'm trying to walk over them, or cycling the wrong way down a one-way street -…

As this is a UK based article, I'm assuming you mean the Cambridge in England. I happen to live in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the while cyclists can be reckless, the drivers pose a 1000x greater threat to safety than cyclists. As a tip for dealing with cyclists: continue your movement as a pedestrian: they'll go around you. Most pedestrians have headphones in/little awareness of their surroundings, and as a cyclist…

  >As a tip for dealing with cyclists: continue your movement as a pedestrian: they'll go around you. Most pedestrians have headphones in/little awareness of their surroundings, and as a cyclist I always assume I'm invisible to them and to cars...
This! I used to do a 10 mile commute to work through several areas that were designated as shared cycle lane / footpath. Every trip was a slalom of avoiding pedestrians dawdling along on the cycle lane side of the divide. Always either with headphones on, or their phone clamped to the side of their head. Completely oblivious to the world arund them. So I'd have to swerve round them. And then hear the involuntary gasp of surprise behind me, as I zipped past.

But much worse were the ones who'd wake up enough to spot you at the last minute and then suddenly jump to the side --usually the side I was just about to swerve round them on.

Just keep on walking in your own oblivious bubble. I saw you about 1/2km ago and have already planned to my route round you!

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