dspaff088

well said, sir

sudo bike

Firstly, it starts off by noting embezzlement. I think perhaps there's a touch more going on than simply a failed train system. Secondly, I would point to the system in France as well as Spain as being profitable. Both boast high ridership numbers. I think it's much easier to review and vet European systems than it is such a closed-off country as China, where at best we are making educated guesses (and even then, there are signs of corruption apparently, which skews things).

And all of this doesn't even note that a freeway expansion to address capacity would pretty much never pay for itself, unless we make major changes in how we pay for our roads. At least if HSR doesn't end up being profitable (I think it will, but that's beside the point), it's likely to be less of a money sink than a freeway - at least some money comes back into it. Remember, we have to deal with that capacity some way... so it doesn't really matter whether HSR is profitable, simply whether we'll need to spend more, initially and over time, than we would for other modes (freeway, air, etc). The evidence I've seen suggests that, even with gloomy predictions, we would still be spending less money than we would if we spent it on additional freeways. Best-case is high profitability.

Digital_Cowboy

And sadly, as I think that by now a large percentage of us (here in the states) know that the Governor of my fair state was only looking at the possible negative side and was not willing to consider the reports/studies prepared by the mayors of the cities that would have been directly impacted by the HSR.

Reports/studies that if I remember correctly showed that HSR WOULD have been profitable.

kjmillig

Back to the OP, my neice, who lives near Seatle, was posting pics and bragging about her new bike with child seat a year ago and how she could use it to run errands. Now as the recession continues and gas prices loom near $4 a gallon she's bragging about her brand new 8 passenger Ford Expedition. Very useful for their family of 3.

UptownJoe60640

I was living somewhere that requires a vehicle for the most part to get around and it drove me crazy. You can safely say I have been car free for 3 years
and there is no possible way I would EVER go back to driving a personal vehicle. I am passionately against the personal vehicle. I do take the bus, which,
there are some hybrids in the city but not sure how many (I should look into it), and the train. I try and walk and ride everywhere. I love being car-free
and it has taken me many years to get to this point in my life where I did not need a car. There is no way you could get me to own a car again. This is
truly a dream come true for me!

mleach82

Gas prices are one of the things that have motivated me to start riding my bike to work again. I did it about 2 years ago and stopped for some reason but with prices nearing $4 a gallon in my area, it gave me the motivation to start up again.

I own a dodge ram and although it's only 7 miles to work, it basically burns a gallon a day to get to work and home. The way i see it is that's $20 a week back in my pocket (to put towards a new bike ). another part of the motivation is the need to drop a few pounds lol.

adxdopefish

The price of petrol is among one of the reasons I am now commuting to work by bike. My work is not far away, and when I do take the pushbike I always take routes that are many times the distance of the direct trip by car.

Still, it is forming a good habit, and I now find myself taking the pushbike to do shopping, to grab coffee, and to do all sorts of other things that I used to take the car for.

I also have a motorcycle and REALLY love riding it, but I still find myself grabbing the pushbike and taking it instead. It feels great to reach a destination under the power of your own legs. Health benefits are another good reason for commuting by bike as well.

Now my trick is trying to get friends to fall in line and do the same!

UptownJoe60640

That has been one of the hardest things for me. I gave up that dream a long time ago. I now lead by example! Plus, having more money in my pocket,
weight loss, and just an overall life change/improvement it makes a lot of people jealous!

adxdopefish

I agree. It's stupidly difficult. Especially when they are asking how that can save more money and get fit. And here is this perfect solution but it just gets ignored.

B. Carfree

They may be slow in coming around, but you will likely have some join you. My wife helped a friend teach a couple of classes at a local charter school for three years. Every morning he would see us roll up on our bikes. When he found out we took the "long" way there, all of eight miles instead of three, he became curious. At the end of the third year he had a former student of his build him a recumbent trike. He now rides 100-200 miles per week to his various tutoring gigs. His wife has even begun walking several miles per week on errands to increase her fitness. I guess I am encouraging you to keep having fun on the bike and others will notice and maybe even imitate.

ianbrettcooper

Hehe, I can't even persuade my wife to go car-free. If she hadn't bought a hybrid car back in '07 she might have switched by now, but gas is going to need to get a bit higher before she'll seriously start considering alternatives. Also, it doesn't help that the D.C. Metro is so darned slow - she keeps using the excuse that it takes her ten minutes more on the Metro than it takes her to drive to her work. What sort of underground system averages ten miles an hour? It's freaking ridiculous!

As for cycling, I doubt she'll ever really use it for commuting, as she's scared of traffic.

adxdopefish

It seems as though a friend of mine has been reading my blog (which I have only just really started writing) and has put some serious consideration into riding her bike to work. She is keen to go for a "test run" during a weekend to see if it will be possible for her to do it. I have no doubts. We went for a ride a few months ago that was much longer than her ride to work (not sure if she's worked out the distances herself) and she was fine on that ride.

That is really half of the battle isn't it. Just getting out there and doing it once, to prove to yourself that it can be done.

Her boyfriend works at the same business, so if she starts riding, he will likely fall in line as well. It would be silly for him to be driving the car in to the same office that she is riding to, right?

Either way, I'll keep cycling and answering questions when they come up. If I could help one person a year to get into this awesome habit, I would be happy.

Bekologist

One of the national evening news last night ran a story on rising gas prices and bikes were mentioned twice as antidotes to the high price of gas.

You'd better believe rising gas prices are going to inspire more bicycle use!

With increasing numbers of cities planning better for bike traffic, it's going to be easier to bike for many americans as well - even LA has been making inroads on bikeability.

Many cities are moving ahead on more progressive, substantive planning for bicycle traffic. This is all the more resonant in these days of rapacious petrol profiteering.

sudo bike

This is true as well. Even in Fresno, the Google Street view isn't correct anymore since we've added so many more bike lanes and some bike trails. Over the last 10 years, Fresno streets have changed a lot. We went from a handful of BL to what seems like every other major street having a BL. The Bicycle Master Plan has helped a lot... I think the green push for biking is popular now, and coupled with more bike facilities and rising gas prices, it could inspire more use.

atbman

Current UK rate about $8.30/USgal. Not sure about the effect, but there seems to be some anecdotal evidence that people are using their cars more sensibly.

UptownJoe60640

When gas prices are high, people get angry and want to be progressive and see changes. This is understandable, but, the problem is when the prices go back down they forget about the alternatives and think about getting the latest and greatest again! This is not a solution! Temporary solutions are not the answer! Unfortunately, that is how a lot of people are. Most people cannot consider living without a car.

The idea alone starts arguments among some. But they LOVE to complain about gas prices!

Digital_Cowboy

Exactly, the only way we'll see any kind of meaningful change is for gas prices to climb and stay there. Not yo-yoing like they have done in the recent past.

Forknroad

It's raining here right now. And it's cold.

I don't want to ride my bike no matter what the price of gas is.

UptownJoe60640

I think a ride in the rain (read: NOT downpour) and a little cold is enjoyable. I always enjoy those type of rides.

Forknroad

Most people don't. I used to. But I don't any more.

UptownJoe60640

I don't really care what others do or agree with. I enjoy it.

Forknroad

The point of course, is that most people (I'm pretty confident saying most people) don't like to ride bikes in cold, wet weather. I live in Vancouver where it's cold and wet for about 5 months of the year -- it sucks riding in the rain. It's worse when it's raining and cold.

It's going to take a lot more than high gas prices to convince someone who cycles a fair bit in good weather to get out and ride in lousy weather regardless of the price of gas.

I'd say it's a monumental task to get the average person who cycles a bit or doesn't cycle at all to ride a bike in crappy weather.

High gas prices in warmer climes might be convince many to cycle more but I doubt it will work in places with cooler, damp weather.

adxdopefish

I found that my only real excuse for not cycling in bad weather was my gear getting wet - not so much myself.

So I dealt with that situation by getting nice waterproof bags for the gear I need to carry. There won't be any excuses for me this next wet season. It's not like I am going to melt away in the rain.

- Brad

Forknroad

I'm not saying that riding in the rain and cold is not possible. I've done it for years. And it IS a hassle no matter how good your gear is. Yes, you can keep dry but to do so you've got to be wrapped in gear from head to toe -- it's a hassle putting this stuff on and taking it off and then having to deal with hanging up a pile of wet gear to dry. It's a huge hassle if you have to do it several times a day.

Another negative about bad weather riding is that it's hard on your bike. Road grit and grime gets all over everything so the bike requires more maintenance and after a harsh winter of riding it will begin to look like crap as metal parts start rusting. I've got disk brakes on my bike and I go through brake pads at least twice as fast through the winter months. Chain wear is pretty brutal too with all that grit grinding away where chain meets cog.

But probably the single biggest reason for not riding in the rain is that you are definitely at higher risk on the roads to have a collision as visibility for drivers and cyclists alike, is reduced dramatically.

So what's this got to do with high gas prices inspiring more bicycle use? High fuel prices do contribute to a few more cyclists on the road. But there are many, many other factors that also need to be overcome - weather just being one of them.

Fuel prices alone are not going to encourage the majority of people to ride bikes more. My guess is that well-designed cycling facilities will make a bigger impact towards encouraging more cycling than high fuel prices.

Unless someone knows of a way to control the weather, I'm not sure what can be done to encourage more cycling in the winter months.

Sledbikes

actually higher gas might put me in the motorized bicycle business i had a few people ask me about them. im ordering the first batch next week