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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

#251

Post by yellowbeard »

booleandilemma wrote: post #236
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…

As a pedestrian I would have a lot more sympathy for cyclists if they stopped at red lights like cars do. Crossing the street in NYC is more dangerous than it has to be because you always have to be wary of a person on a bike coming out from behind a truck or something.

I don't think the data supports your assertion. Car drivers injure and kill a couple orders of magnitude more pedestrians in NYC than cyclists do.

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

#252

Post by simonebrunozzi »

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…

They should simply offer (assisted) e-bikes, instead of regular ones, while limiting the top speed to something like 15 mph. It would allow "casual" drivers to go fast enough, and behave like a "proper" bike rider.

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

#253

Post by ccho »

As a daily commuter in NYC, often on Citibike, one of the most concerning discoveries has been the ability (if you are willing to pedal hard) to consistently beat out ambulances over stretches of 15 blocks -- specifically without running red lights on the bike whereas the ambulance is going through them -- due to the slow speed in which traffic clears a path for them. I really wish the streets were not so congested with vehicular traffic to prevent emergency vehicles from getting to their destinations.

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

#254

Post by pjmlp »

mmirate wrote: post #246
pjmlp wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it helps as motivation, it is quite common to cycle on Swiss cities, and the Alps aren't properly flat. A light bike with a good set of gears helps a lot.

Novice American cyclist here: what makes a set of gears "good" for usage in Swiss cities?

For example 3 gears on front and 6 behind, allowing for a relatively good combination of cycling effort (18 levels), which permits not being wasting too much energy when going upwards.

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

#255

Post by clort »

jandrese wrote: post #151
Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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 stoplights on my bike, but it's really punishing sometimes. Bikes don't trip the sensors so the light will ignore you until a car pulls up behind you. This can require three or four cycles of the lights if traffic in your direction is sparse.

In the UK at least, you can often see a rubber strip in a square where the sensor has been added to the road (they cut a slot then re-seal it). I try to stop with my wheel rims right on strip and it often triggers the lights. In fact, I wonder sometimes if it actually senses stronger because the metal wheel rim is so much closer as I've had the light turn immediately if I get it just so. (the specific junction I use is only detector triggered, it doesn't time back and forth at all)

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

#256

Post by [deleted] »

revelation wrote: post #111
btbuildem wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Even if you do, the bikes are not going to kill you . Someone on a bike breaking the "rules of the road" is pretty much only risking his own safety, someone in a car it's almost always other people that die.

[deleted]

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

#257

Post by pound »

wooter wrote: post #237
pound wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In SF you're legally not allowed to ride on sidewalks if you're over age of 13.

seems like a bad law. i won’t ask anyone to risk their lives over a bad law

you're also allowed use of full lane

Mostly issue with city biking is drivers who think that roads are strictly for cars

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

#258

Post by rhinoceraptor »

wooter wrote: post #237
pound wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In SF you're legally not allowed to ride on sidewalks if you're over age of 13.

seems like a bad law. i won’t ask anyone to risk their lives over a bad law

Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Biking on the sidewalk is not safe.

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

#259

Post by imgabe »

andrewla wrote: post #187
imgabe wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Better bike infrastructure keeps bikes off the sidewalk. As a biker you can't win. Drivers try to run you off the road, pedestrians don't want you on the sidewalk. Bike lanes are a solution, but the political will needs to be there. That being said, in places where bikers feel they have to use the sidewalk, they should absolutely yield to pedestrians.

In places where bikers feel they have to use the sidewalk, they should absolutely walk their bikes. It's what the law says and its very sensible all around. If you have to go the wrong way up a one-way street or if the road is blocked, you can just get off your bike and walk it for a block. It's not the end of the world to have to walk for a minute. As both a biker and a pedestrian in NYC, this seems so glaringly obv…

> It's what the law says

The law varies city by city. Where I live bikes are prohibited from the sidewalk only in the downtown area and it's legal elsewhere. Not that it stops anyone from biking on the sidewalk even downtown or that it ever gets enforced.

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

#260

Post by ako »

matt4077 wrote: post #84
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 kinda enjoy the build quality of Berlin's shared bikes. "Heavy" is usually attributed to cheap materials, but for these bikes, it's a result of the requirements of their typical usage. I've heard prices of around $4000 quoted for these bike, meaning most of their components are better than almost all other bikes on the road. They seem indestructible, and, once moving, can roll forever without slowing down. Yes, bec…

I used the nextbike while visiting berlin last weekend. Best way to get around!

Agree that the build quality is really good (picture here: https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5619/22110033485_a7ab045bdd_b...)

Eventhough they're rather heavy, the nextbike actually cycles rather well. Was pleasantly surprised.

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