A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by nightfly on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @03:23PM (#20405485)

For years I commuted by train/bus to school/work until I could afford (the extra $200ish per month) to switch to driving to claw-back an hour of time I spent commuting each day. If traffic devolved to the point that I wouldn't be able to drive to work anymore I /would/ adjust, but I'd be generally less happy for it.

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Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by TulliusCicero on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @05:56PM (#20407026)

This is fair, but it's also fair to point out that the reason why public transit in the US tends to be so much slower than driving for commuting is precisely because we've invested far more money and land and policies into driving.

Now that I live in Munich, doing folding scooter + train is faster than driving to work. Mostly because public transportation here is good, rather than bad, because they've chosen to invest seriously in multiple modes of transport, rather than just one.

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Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by cerebellum42 on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @04:22PM (#20406117)

Fair point, but arguably that's a bit short term thinking. What if at the same time(driven by increased ridership) public transport improved to the point where it's not an extra hour, but instead about the same time or only slightly longer than driving?

I don't think most US cities would ever get to a point where public transport and bicycles are much faster for a lot of regular routes (like in some European cities), but the gap can be closed if there is political and financial support to improve the infrastructure.

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Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by mrmanner on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @06:18PM (#20407186)

My most productive time each day is the ~half hour on the bus or train to work. I plan my day, answer all simple emails, and when I’m in the office I can get right to the important things.

I get that many jobs (and even more employers) require 8 hours attendance, that not everyone has volunteer work to do when they can’t work work on their commute, and that some public transport doesn’t accommodate any kind of being productive - but I’m still amazed at how many people prefer say 40 minutes driving to an hour sitting on a train and a 10 minute walk.

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Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by iCarrot on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @11:01PM (#20408767)

There are also other ways to reclaim dead time on public transport like reading a book, listening to podcast, or just plain relax. You can't do those while driving without compromising your attention and (therefore) safety of yourself and others.

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Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by wil421 on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @03:33PM (#20405608)

I’ve since moved houses and jobs. Both are impossible by train or bus.

They are putting bike lanes on about 40% of my commute but 12 miles each way is a bit of a stretch.

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Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by CalRobert on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @03:52PM (#20405819)

With the right infrastructure, 12 miles is about a 45-50 minute ride, for what it's worth. When I commuted from Santa Monica to El Segundo it was 13 miles and the bike averaged ~5 minutes slower than car (I was in the best shape of my life and loved starting the day that way, to boot.)

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Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by criddell on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @04:28PM (#20406172)

At lot of that depends on where you live. Southern California has a pretty ideal climate. I'm in Austin and I can manage my 7 mile commute in the summer until the temperature gets above about 102. I'm fortunate that my workplace has a shower.

A 12 mile winter commute in some of the northern states could be pretty dangerous.

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Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by lazyasciiart on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @04:39PM (#20406286)

I expect it is, but people definitely do it by choice: https://www.frugalwoods.com/2014/11/19/the-ultimate-bike-com...

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Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by dmd on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @04:28PM (#20406166)

12 miles through freezing rain or snow is a bit harder, and that's the majority of the year for most in the US.

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Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by Karrot_Kream on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @04:40PM (#20406300)

12mi each way is a fantastic and doable commute if you're in good shape, but if you aren't and want to still reap the benefits, an eBike is fantastic.

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Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by Steltek on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @04:27PM (#20406165)

Have you considered an e-bike? Don't listen to the bike snobs, they're really quite good at extending the commute range.

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Re:A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking ... by zbrozek on Wednesday July 10, 2019 @04:32PM (#20406216)

12 miles is totally doable. An e-bike can help make it more doable if it's not already doable for you.

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