Millennials drive as much as previous generations
From CityLab:
It's become an uncontested truth that young Americans dislike driving, and indeed, Millennials do seem more fond of public transportation than their elders are. But a new Census tool comparing 18-to-34 year olds now and in the past raises questions about just how much things have changed. In many major U.S. metro areas, young people today drive to work as often as they did in 1980, if not more...
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| Alliance for Biking and Walking |
posted by Rob Anderson @ 12:35 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
The removal of travel lanes, parking spaces, and other anti-car policies have had the intended results in NYC, Boston, SF, Portland, Seattle, and D.C. Well, somewhat. People still rather ride on motorized public transit than on bicycles when not driving.
Hey Rob - here's a good video for you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJZlpeQiEvs
Yes the intended results being "make drivers miserable and driving worse" rather than "make public transit better". If public transit wasn't an hour door to door instead of the 15-20 min on my bike, and if public transit wasn't $4.50 for my daily commute versus the $1 it takes to fill gas in my motorcycle, and if SF wasn't full of city hills that I didn't have to climb on a bicycle, THEN I might stop using my car/motorcycle. But none of those things are true, so I won't.
And I'm sure an anti-car zealot will look at the above and say "clearly we have not gone far enough - let's make his commute 60 minute then he'll take the bus or ride his bike".
Creating chaos and then calling it "improvement" is a lot easier than creating order.
"15-20 min on my bike"
Exactly. And if we'd just get more bike lanes and favorable traffic signals for bikes, then we'd shorten that to 10-15. There's no question that bikes are the fastest and cheapest way to get around SF. I don't even try to reason with the car zealots who pop up once in a while in this city. Ride on!
Yes, riding a bike can be faster for short trips, especially if you don't pause for stop signs and scatter pedestrians from crosswalks along the way. But if you need to get across town for appointments, have to shop for your family, and commute to jobs out of town, riding a bike is not practical.
And, just as important, riding a bike is a lot more dangerous than traveling by car or Muni.
Rkeezy, as usual Rob's commenters aren't paying attention and hence are now telling us that by changing the BICYCLE lanes and traffic lights it will shorten your MOTORCYCLE commute.
I have often wondered why City Hall, which insists on engineering our wants and habits (rather than just giving us what we want), hasn't directed one of its Stalinist 5-year plans towards "persuading" more of us to ride motorcycles and scooters. They take up no more space than bicycles and would have the same positive impact on traffic congestion. They are much more practical than bicycles. I suspect that they are less dangerous too, given that motorbikes have better tires, brakes and lights than bicycles and that most motorbike riders wear much more body and skull protection than bicyclists do.
Oh, OK, I think I figured out why City Hall hasn't done this. Motorcyclists, unlike bicyclists, aren't the least bit concerned that everyone else doesn't do what they do and therefore won't be bothered to congregate into evangelical, proselytizing, theocratic political pressure groups.
Walk and bike nuts out to ruin the city of Stockton:
http://streetsblog.net/2014/12/10/stockton-ca-wants-better-transit-biking-and-sidewalks-not-wider-roads/
Interesting how they pounce just as Stockton is beginning to recover from years of government-imposed depressio...
Dear Dave, I've lived here for 10 years, so you can shut your potty mouth.
And Rider 5050, I was referring to a motorcycle, not a bicycle.
"The removal of travel lanes, parking spaces, and other anti-car policies have had the intended results in NYC, Boston, SF, Portland, Seattle, and D.C. Well, somewhat. People still rather ride on motorized public transit than on bicycles when not driving."
Yes, and the thing about Portland that worries their bike people: bike use apparently peaked there around 2008 at 6%, where it's been stuck since then. The same thing seems to be happening here in Progressive Land.
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