It replaces a car for daily activities, not for road trips.

Have you ever seen what happens in a Tube strike in London? Gridlock like you wouldn't believe. I was cycling to work and I saw an ambulance stuck in traffic dead stopped with sirens blaring because there was no open space for any cars within earshot to move out of the way. There were tens of thousands of people walking to work along the A3 (Northern Line corridor) into the city like refugees because it was faster than car, cab or bus.

The point is, the transit capacity of a city with a dense transit network is orders of magnitude greater than the typical American city, and SF/SV is barely a notch better.

Yeah, I don't mind crazy packed subway if I don't carry more than a backpack. If I have to move a large box I won't be happy.

> 1) How am I supposed ro go to the beach with two kids, stuff for picnic and surfboards on a bike

Easy. With a trailer. My wife and I have two bike trailers for our 3 kids. The oldest will often ride her own bike (she is 5) and then when she gets tired, you can throw it in the back and she climbs in.

Another friend of mine has one of those stretched out e-bikes where he hauls his two kids around. Oh, and he sold his car in order to buy it.

> It should be a healthy, safe mix of both. This is true, but we are no where near the point of a "people jam" (or bike jam) in much of the US/Canada.

It doesn't have to totally replace cars. The ideal is to drop down from a 2 car household to a 1 car household and only use it for bigger errands and trips, or you drop down to a 0 car household and use the money you save on car payments, gas, and insurance to occasionally rent or carshare. The best is for biking/walking/transit to replace daily trips to/from places like work, dinner, downtown, the movies, the park, etc.

Right...I'm somewhat of a "militant" cyclist. I think it has the capacity to radically change how people get to and from work if we can shift people's perspectives regarding using them, and build protected bike lanes/highways/trails that reach all over and access public transportation.

I bike two miles to a train station downtown, and I take the train to a stop in a nearby city, bike two miles to work. Sometimes I bike all the way home (20 miles-ish) for a nice, convenient workout. I also get to work from home two days a week. I read books on the train, I have made great friends on the train. This is the best commute I have ever had, and I will miss it dearly if/when my situation changes.

That said, I can never go completely car free. My wife and I like to go hiking in the mountains or go to the coast with our dogs on the weekend. A car is the only way to get there with our pets.

Yup, our household dropped from 2 cars to 1. We bike & trailer the kid. It may not last forever, but it's worked out pretty well, with the car parked 20+ days a month but ready & willing for travel outside town.

Saved us tons of money, garage space, and if many families in our town did the same thing, traffic would completely evaporate. Yet everyone would still have access to a car for surfing & beach trips.

Maybe you should keep your car for the rare occasions where you actually need to transport a lot of stuff (you could rent a car if that happens infrequently enough) and not clog the roads every day when a bike and public transit could take you to the office just as quickly.

Personally, I actually commute to work by motorcycle (not sure why it isn’t more popular in CA). But, of course, like a bicycle, it is not for everyone.

Perception of risk is why. My wife has made it very clear that I’m a single man if I ever get a motorcycle.

Only perception? I have nothing against motorcycles, but the last time I saw stats, increased risk with respect to both cars and bycicles was quite real.

Perception of risk is what drives decisions. Actual risk drives outcomes.

People got along just fine before the car.

And heaven forbid that you have to interact with other people on public transit. How ever will you survive?

being forced into strangers’ armpits is not the kind of interaction I am looking forward to. Of course, “happens only during rush hours”. Sorry, but I actually lived in an Eastern European city and had to commute like that to work.

Yeah, I lived in Chicago for 6 years. You're being overly dramatic.

Public transportation in Chicago sucks. The blue line incredibly crowded, id rather not get stabbed or thrown on to the tracks on the red. Metra is pretty ok. Also cyclists in Chicago apparently are allowed to do whatever they want. Run red lights, clip pedestriansnon the the sidewalks.

While I would like to see chicago spend more in public transit dollars and improve overall safety, this is a ridiculous representation of what it’s like to use the El. I commuted via el exclusively for 6 years, and didn’t even own a car for 5, and I never saw or knew someone who saw what you’re describing.

If you want to let your life be controlled by the worst comment section on the local news site that’s fine, but don’t waste our time with your nonsense.

I have a friend that was recently pushed onto the tracks. It was not the first time this guy did it either. The blue line is just incredibly crowded but I wouldn't consider it dangerous. I'm sorry but the El sucks for a variety of reasons depending on the line, I don't own a car but I still avoid the El as much as possible. Those are my experiences, not some news comments.

In LA, the train goes right to long beach. You have your two kids carry picnic stuff; you may just want to rent a surfboard there.

*note, I lived in LA for 4 months w/o a car; It's a pain to fit a longboard in an UberXL.

In westside neighborhoods, it is not unusual to see people with modified beach cruiser bikes going to and from the beach. These have a surfboard rack that puts the board parallel to the bike. Basically two deep, foam-padded u-shaped brackets jutting out on one side of the frame. When carrying a board, it just shifts the center of gravity of the bike a bit in between the frame and the outboard cargo.

"1) How am I supposed ro go to the beach with two kids, stuff for picnic and surfboards on a bike or even on a bus?!!"

Do you honestly do this every day? No? Then don't bring that up. Use a car when it makes sense, and don't when you don't have to.

"2) Public transit is all good, but have you ever been in a PEOPLE jam during rush hour in a subway? Because I had. And I will take SV traffic jam over it any day."

Increase funding so you can increase the amount of trains. Or shift your commute a bit. Either way, I don't believe for a second that one would rather spend 3 hours driving each way.

"The truly bad things happen because of radicalism - it should not be bikes + public transit vs cars. It should be a healthy, safe mix of both."

It should be a mix. But people like you are turning it into an either/or battle. You're spreading so much FUD that cycling, walking, and public transit don't get any say.