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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

#101

Post by ajmurmann »

II2II wrote: post #80
lscdlscd wrote: post #2

Amazing news! More cyclists (and fewer motorists) on the streets creates a safer, less polluted city environment for everyone.

According to the article, the number of cyclists have not increased that much. (They mentioned it is at 102% of pre-pandemic levels.) What they are seeing is a decline in motor vehicles. The cyclists are simply an interesting way to benchmark that decline! It is still good news. People need to find better modes of transportation for both the environment and for society. It is just that the title doesn't mean what it…

So are more people taking public transit, walking or maybe stopped commuting entirely during the pandemic?

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#102

Post by afavour »

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

The concern I have (in NYC FWIW) is that someone will see they can’t steal the bike and will instead just trash the thing while it’s still locked. Maybe I’m too pessimistic.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#103

Post by tokai »

DangitBobby wrote: post #77
tokai wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh what? You can definitely kill someone with your bike. Also if you kill yourself in traffic you will raise the risk of traffic related deaths for the responders. Many places in the world riding a bike drunk is as illegal as driving a car drunk.

> Many places in the world riding a bike drunk is as illegal as driving a car drunk. Even if you assume the the risks outlined in your comment as relatively high likelihood (which I don't), it still makes 0 sense to think it's anywhere near as serious as driving drunk.

Riding a bike drunk is asocial and a danger to yourself and others. You might like to think of it as less serious, just like people thought of drunk driving as okay if you were careful. It's a judgment call you make, but it is objectively more dangerous than when you are sober.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#104

Post by tokai »

Xylakant wrote: post #79
tokai wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh what? You can definitely kill someone with your bike. Also if you kill yourself in traffic you will raise the risk of traffic related deaths for the responders. Many places in the world riding a bike drunk is as illegal as driving a car drunk.

It‘s definitely possible and happens regularly. But statistically speaking, it‘s a freak accident compared to car vs. pedestrian. It‘s orders of magnitude less likely.

That's besides the point. People sometimes die when bikes run into them - simple as.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#106

Post by Xylakant »

Nextgrid wrote: post #71
Xylakant wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What you say would only really be true if there weren't a portion of the population - even only a minority - who are, for want of a better word, massive dickheads (or simply very inattentive and situationally unaware). Isn‘t the same statement true for car drivers? But the major difference is that a car turns a dickhead into a mortal danger for other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike, while a bike doesn‘t.

Cars are a mortal danger to non-car users (pedestrians, (motor?)cyclists), but at city speeds, they wouldn't be a mortal danger for other car users.

These people killed by a dickhead driver would probably disagree https://slate.com/business/2023/03/dc-car-crash-tickets-rock...

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#107

Post by jacobr1 »

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…

> - do not have to worry about car maintenance, parking tickets or theft;

While significantly less of a hassle than car maintenance, if you are riding a bike daily, you do now need to consider bike maintenance. And theft remains an issue in many cities for bikes as well.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#108

Post by giraffe_lady »

ehnto wrote: post #18
lscdlscd wrote: post #2

Amazing news! More cyclists (and fewer motorists) on the streets creates a safer, less polluted city environment for everyone.

Quieter too. When wandering Tokyo I started asking myself, why does it feel so quiet when there are so many people and so much advertising? Then you hit one of the roads with cars, and you realise just how much road noise impacts a space. It is obvious in theory but I bet most of us in car-centric cities have learned to live with it so much, that it doesn't cross our minds as the source of discomfort.

"Cities aren't loud, cars are loud."

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#109

Post by passwordqwe »

tokai wrote: post #64
bee_rider wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Biking and drinking (in excess) — probably not the world’s best combo in general, but on the bright side it is just your own life at risk, and there’s a built-in coordination challenge, so I guess it isn’t possible to get going while truly hammered!

Eh what? You can definitely kill someone with your bike. Also if you kill yourself in traffic you will raise the risk of traffic related deaths for the responders. Many places in the world riding a bike drunk is as illegal as driving a car drunk.

In the Netherlands driving a bike under influence is technically illegal. But nobody gets caught for it, and it's the much preferred alternative to drinking & driving.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#110

Post by [deleted] »

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.

[deleted]
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