Even More Americans Have Stopped Biking To Work (usatoday.com) 275
The percentage of Americans biking to work has dropped for the third year straight, reports the U.S. Census Bureau. An anonymous reader quotes USA Today:
Nationally, the percentage of people who say they use a bike to get to work fell by 3.2 percent from 2016 to 2017, to an average of 836,569 commuters, according to the bureau's latest American Community Survey, which regularly asks a group of Americans about their habits. That's down from a high of 904,463 in 2014, when it peaked after four straight years of increases....
Experts offered several explanations for the nationwide decrease that has unfolded even as cities spent millions trying to become more bike-friendly. Most obviously, lower gasoline prices and a stronger economy contributed to strong auto sales and less interest in cheaper alternatives, such as mass transit and bikes. The rise of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft and electric scooters cut into bike commuting, said Dave Snyder, executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition.
In at least two American cities -- Cleveland and Tampa -- the number of bike commuters has dropped by 50%.
Experts offered several explanations for the nationwide decrease that has unfolded even as cities spent millions trying to become more bike-friendly. Most obviously, lower gasoline prices and a stronger economy contributed to strong auto sales and less interest in cheaper alternatives, such as mass transit and bikes. The rise of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft and electric scooters cut into bike commuting, said Dave Snyder, executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition.
In at least two American cities -- Cleveland and Tampa -- the number of bike commuters has dropped by 50%.
Constant job changes are needed (Score:5, Interesting)
And of course most cities don't have money for bike paths. No joke, there's several places in my city where there's a path going out but not coming _back_. And a lot of times the bike path has just eroded away and there's no money to restore it.
Re:Constant job changes are needed (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't hate people who ride bicycles to work. However 'cyclists', meaning the self-identified militant cult member, are annoying. Proselytizing to everyone ("here's a map of routes you can take"), lying ("it's safe", "it's easy", "it's convenient"), and bragging ("I wasn't feeling well so I only biked 50 miles this weekend").
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"However 'cyclists', meaning the self-identified militant cult member,..."
You should seriously reevaluate your life, no one believes "cyclist" means this.
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Most of us don't 'proselytize'.
Most of us don't commute on a bike to work either. It's slow, inconvenient, and I for one don't want to stew in my own sweat all day.
It's safe
It can be. The 'average' cyclist somehow thinks that they're not living in the same reality as everyone else on public roads. They're not paying attention in the same ways they are when driving, and they should. Same laws apply.
To be absolutely
Re:Constant job changes are needed (Score:5, Interesting)
Ya, it's dangerous. And they don't want to admit it. Every year see someone else with a black eye or broken arm or major road rash. I used to ride a small motorcycle, and I realized pretty quick that there was a higher than normal probability of being in a very bad accident that was not at all my own fault. And then I see a significant number of cyclists not even in the bike lanes or who are staying right on that painted white line.
People have asked me why I don't bike. Never mind the obvious answer that I haven't biked in decades and won't be joining their all day mountain ride anytime soon. My first answer I give is often "there's no safe route for me" and then they look at me like I was spouting nonsense.
I do agree that I should take my car to work less often, but that means using mass transit (which also means getting more exercise).
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And then I see a significant number of cyclists not even in the bike lanes or who are staying right on that painted white line.
Probably because the bike lane is so narrow that you'd be in the dooring zone otherwise.
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I figured it was because the tilt in the road surface to get water to flow to the gutter was worse at the edge. But yeah, bikes hugging the left edge of the bike lane always made me nervous when I was going past them.
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Oh, that's just everyday annoyance. Try being a foot/MUNI commuter and getting trapped by critical mass, not once but twice... once while walking to my bus, and once on the bus when the biker assholes looped back.
That was the day I decided I'd never be a bike commuter. And every critical mass I've witnessed or experienced has reinforced that decision. They're a massive pack of raging assholes, and I have zero desire to ever join their ranks; or even to be mistaken for one of them. And yes, likewise, I h
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Oh dear. You have to share the road with other people, it's not just there for your biscuit tin.
Here's news for you: you are not alone on the road. Roads existed before cars, and they will exist after, and other people have a right to use them too. You have to slow them for them? Suck it up, snowflake.
Cleveland and Tampa? (Score:2)
Sounds like good news for the people of Cleveland and Tampa. Can't imagine how awful it was biking through the snow and rain and humid heat and everything else those cities will throw at you.
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We’ve been doing that for decades here in the Netherlands.
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Let me know next time you have to do 32C+ for, say, seven months straight. Which is a mild summer for Tampa....
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Re: Cleveland and Tampa? (Score:2)
And you don't shower when you get in?
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Re: Cleveland and Tampa? (Score:2)
Yes it's the bacteria. The bacteria which starts reproducing wildly as soon as you start sweating. You may be fortunate enough to have minimal B.O. but what you're describing is not a workable strategy for most people. You sweat at 9AM, you absolutely need a shower before 5PM.
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If you think that caring for people is Nazism then I don't need to talk to you.
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Bicycles and Motorcycles are not safe on roads. (Score:3)
"Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists' risk of a fatal crash is 35 times greater than a passenger car.
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Yeah, I know two guys who bike to work everyday - or did, anyway. One has had something like 7 concussions. The other was just found on the side of the road and had no idea what happened to him. Mr. 7 concussion still bikes, but not Mr. side of road.
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More made up "facts" that no one can challenge.
No experienced cyclist would tolerate such frequent collisions and injuries without doing something about it long before 7 concussions. That's just stupid.
I knew a Mr. Bad Decision that once suffered brain damage from not riding a bike but was cured once he started bicycle commuting.
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Sure call me a liar, but statistics are in my favor here. Biking is not a safe activity compared to driving.
I agree, by the way. The guy that continues to cycle despite his concussions is a bit deranged. His wife is begging him to stop. But he's very experienced and very dedicated. He keeps trying to convince me to let him show me a "safe" route to work. Yeah, no thanks buddy.
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Anecdotally, I"ve done about 20k miles of cycle commuting in the last several years with no accidents and the 5k of driving I have been rear end
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To be fair, most of those came while racing - not on his trip to work. He now works from home :)
And he races less now, mostly doing things like hosting foreign racers at his house and riding in chase vehicles to feed his addiction... he's a good guy, just nuts.
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Re: Bicycles and Motorcycles are not safe on roads (Score:2)
Drivers aren't as inattentive as cyclists willfullness to drive dangerously. There's a reason semi trailers tell you to stay out of their blind spots. If a car drives in a semi's blind spot and gets creamed, that's on the car's driver. Same for bikes in cars' blind spots.
Re:Bicycles and Motorcycles are not safe on roads. (Score:5, Insightful)
Yup. The accidents are very often not the fault of the motorcycle driver. Or the bicycle rider. Things on the road that are not autos are often difficult to see for many reasons, and not just because some people are stupid. Blind spots abound in automobiles. Now going further than this and having a bike not be in an expected place like the bike line but instead cutting across multiple lanes of traffic without signaling will just compound everything (get off the damn bike, stop at the light, and put your foot on the ground instead of weaving around while you try to keep your balance).
For example, it was very common for me to experience autos passing my motorcycle within my own lane. That is, instead of getting all the way over into the lane to the left, they'd straddle the line between the lanes so that their car was just a few inches from my knee. And tailgating was so amazingly common, which is highly dangerous because the motorcycle can't safely slow down.
But my solution was to stop using a motorcycle. I didn't go and play the victim card or demand that the city institute new rules. If I ended up in a hospital bed it wouldn't matter at all if it was my fault or not.
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as though any of that applies to cyclists. Why has /. posters become so ignorant?
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In one California case a few years ago, a police officer plowed into a cyclist while texting. By using his Cop Immunity(tm) he got away without any punishment, even though the victim was a Silicon Valley CEO.
Not worth it (Score:3)
Not worth it unless you have a death wish. Also what are you supposed to do in the summer when its hot and humid already in the morning? Get to work and be soaked with sweat? Plus around here we have these things called hills. Some of which are over 20% grade.
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Worth it is in the eye of the beholder.
My commute is 18 miles one way and while I don't do it every day, I do commute year round. As to the 20% grades, I have a couple of them I have to deal with each way. There is a significant investment of time to do this, but it beats going to a gym.
Living in a rural area, the death wish part really only comes into play once I it the city where I work. I've had more close calls in the final two miles than the rest of the commute by several orders of magnitude.
Re: Not worth it (Score:2)
And so you arrive to work after a workout but without taking a shower? And your coworkers don't hate you?
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Since work has a show facility, all of us that commute are smelling fresh by the time we sit down at our desks to work.
Re: Not worth it (Score:2)
I find it absolutely hilarious that people push for cycling without mentioning the fact that it's a complete non-starter unless you have a shower at work. Do you really think that's normal?
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Not gas, not cost (Score:5, Informative)
>"Experts offered several explanations for the nationwide decrease that has unfolded even as cities spent millions trying to become more bike-friendly. Most obviously, lower gasoline prices and a stronger economy contributed to strong auto sales and less interest in cheaper alternatives, such as mass transit and bikes."
No. Who are these "experts"??
Almost nobody rides a bike to work to "save gas." For most, if he/she is within easy biking range, that doesn't amount to much gas. And it isn't cost either. Those biking do so primarily for exercise, possible enjoyment, and in some cases to reduce wear on their car (short start/stop trips are rough on ICE cars, plus they sit in the sun parked all day). For most it is certainly not as fast or convenient, especially in bad weather. And it is often very unsafe, certainly if it requires ANY riding on major/busy roads.
I bike almost every day to work and have for many years, but I also live 0.5mi from work. Yes, I also sometimes walk, but typically want to get there/home faster and also biking deters being stopped for conversations with neighbors :)
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Cost was initially a major factor for me. With gas/oil, mandatory insurance, parking, maintenance, tickets and the vehicle itself, I estimated I saved $10-12K a year not having a vehicle. Add to that $800 a year in health club membership I didn't need anymore, as I get enough exercise biking 9.5km to work (10x as far away) and back five times a week. Since I was strapped for cash at the time, I switched to biking and now would not go back even though I could.
It's not only cheaper but faster than transit to
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>"Cost was initially a major factor for me. With gas/oil, mandatory insurance, parking, maintenance, tickets and the vehicle itself, I estimated I saved $10-12K a year not having a vehicle."
My assumption is/was that most people just can't adequately survive without also having a car (I have a car, motorcycle, and bicycle). Especially led that way in my response based on the silliness of the summary saying "saving gas" (which implies they have a car and choose not to use it). I probably should have spec
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"Anonymous Coward" sums you up very well.
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You’re a fucking retard. Cars don’t cost that much a year.
Maybe he lives where there are Massachusetts taxes and Boston drivers.
Re: Not gas, not cost (Score:2)
That Porsche is at the low end of the luxury price range, and it will cost you about $6k a year without insurance, maintenance, gas, and parking. You just clearly demonstrated that cars cost $10k/year, you dumb fuck.
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Amen. It's almost as though the authors know nothing about bicycle commuting.
I commute 6 miles each way. Total time is basically the same as by car, but I get my exercise in at the same time. It is health decision.
Sanity, not gas, not cost. (Score:3)
I bike because driving in SoCal is a shitshow. I've got to where I hate even being in a car, when I have to Uber. Luckily the weather makes that rare. I sold my truck am 400/month richer for that, and I don't have to play asshole roulette on the freeway anymore.
As an added bonus, I get to give people shit when they say they want the government to do something about global warming, while they burn 80 gallons of gas every month.
Too many drivers texting... (Score:2)
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Is there a leadership? (Score:4, Interesting)
I do, even in the snow. (Score:5, Informative)
I do, even in the snow, especially the snow actually. I find it takes less time for me to bike to work than to clear the snow off my car in the morning. When I got my job, I went online to look for a place to rent, I put my work's postal (zip) code into craigslist and sorted results for the closest. Bicycle ride is all of 10 minutes. I used to have an hour long commute, it was terrible, what a waste of my life. I'll take a tiny apt over a nice house rather than ever do that again. In the winter, my ride is all in the dark, so I have blindingly bright lights on my bike, no way someone won't see me. About 1/4 of my ride is on a bicycle path, so I get to see lots of nature, rabbits every day, and there is a homeless camp that provides some entertainment as well. That little bit of exercise in the morning wakes me up and leaves me feeling great coming in to work.
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Forget about that, the homeless camp is gonna take his bike and rape his ass at some point when they realize he sees them as entertaining.
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Been since I was in middle school, I'm almost 40 now.
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I used to as well. I found a scooter with tires meant for a mini dirt bike worked very well. Scooters are preferred since they are lighter, lower center of gravity, thicker front tire, no gears, and better wind protection. I've got a dual sport too, but keep that just for the summer now. Handle bar heaters, muffs, and an apron/skirt make a big difference. Side skids/skis like some military winter motorcycles have would be nice.
Hostile environment (Score:3)
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You know, in the early 1900s, there was a major push for the US to pave its roads. A large part of that push came from lobbying by The League of American Wheelmen. That's a bicycle club sonny.
I've been to the states twice now. (Score:3)
It's dangerous enough in Melbourne, I'll be *DAMNED* if I would *EVER* consider riding a bike on the roads in your country. That's some seriously dangerous roads.
It's the scooters, I tell ya'! (Score:2)
It's because they are taking to gol darn scooters!
And God forbid you should try to WALK to work in any dense urban area. You are going to be MOWED OVER by scooters on the sidewalk!
Pretty-much every form of transportation is now total shit-show, at least in said dense urban areas.
- scooters/bikes/electric bikes on the sidewalks and streets
- circling and double-parked Uber and Lyft cars with clueless and uncourteous drivers
- handicapped spaces occupied by Uber/Lyft cars waiting for an assignment
- Uber/Lyft ca
I don't even ride a bike! (Score:2)
Seriously ... I may be one of the only adults out there who can say this, but I never learned how to ride a bicycle. As a kid, growing up, I had all kinds of pedal cars, a tricycle or two, a "Big Wheel", etc. Any of them were good enough to ride up and down our street. And considering my dad had an accident as a teenager, when he was struck by a car delivering newspapers, that affected him the rest of his life? He wasn't all that willing to encourage me to get or ride a bicycle.
Then, I got my driver's lic
Priceless (Score:2)
Nothing quite like the viewpoint of someone who can't even ride a bike and knows literally nothing about the subject.
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Except I'm one more piece of the demographic who isn't riding a bike to or from work....
And why would I know "absolutely nothing" about the subject, just because I don't ride a bike? Do you also feel people know absolutely nothing about the trucking industry because they don't work in the profession, and never drove a big rig? I guess nobody ever knows the first thing about automobiles without getting a driver's license and driving one either, right?
Telecommuting (Score:3)
I imagine most of it's telecommuting. I'd guess there's significant overlap between bike-friendly employers and remote-friendly employers.
Make biking great again (Score:2)
No parked RV.
No tent cities blocking paths and areas set aside for bikes.
No waste and trash left out on the streets.
Stop criminals from doing crime in nice city areas. Give good city police back their powers to enforce laws
No open drug use.
Make all US cities great again and good people can enjoy their bike commute again.
Really nice scenic bike routes in and around cities.
No more having to navigate crime infested urban areas with trash and waste.
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Thats direct form the political leaders of big cities.
Virtue signalling and political correctness allows city laws to stay unenforced. A few changes to city enforcement would make more bike use work for many more people.
A car is then needed just to stay safe and away from crime, junk, trash and get to work.
People want to bike but city politics make that extra difficult.
Spending on light rail, bus, electric car parking, new bike paths to nowhere, then allowing the
remote work (Score:2)
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So did I. But I am not sure that it is a good thing. Two 20 minute rides every day was good for both my health and state of mind.
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People's time is valuable ... (Score:2)
... that's what's behind the time-savers like food and grocery deliveries and, recently, robotic snack deliveries of snacks on campus [slashdot.org].
Pepsi Is Testing a Snack Delivery Robot On Select College Campuses
Generally, it's too dangerous (Score:4, Informative)
Sorry, my fault! (Score:2)
I will try to drink less Sunday night and fight the urge to be lazy the next few weeks to get us back on track!
Sadly, with cheap Lyft fares, it is easy to be lazy.
Maybe more are now home officed folks (Score:2)
Good (Score:2)
Biking to work is a stupid yuppie elitist idea. Should have died in the 1980s with flock of seagull haircuts.
I plotted the graph (Score:2)
https://factfinder.census.gov/... [census.gov]
The trend is visible. After peaking in 2014 it steadily goes down.
My sister just told me that... (Score:3)
I asked her "Have you taught him to look both ways before crossing?"
She said "You wouldn't believe this scooter accident we saw there recently"
I pointed out "He probably didn't look both ways"
People don't walk not just because of laziness but because they're scared of EVERYTHING. And they pass it down to their kids. I've been crossing streets for 40 years and never once have I had a problem. I've crossed the street she mentioned many times growing up and even recently when visiting. I can't understand how with nearly a full kilometer of visibility in all traffic directions how it could possibly be dangerous to cross the street.
But this is America today. America has chosen to stop living because they have too much fear of getting hurt.
Well. Motorists still trying to kill me. (Score:2)
Soccer moms driving SUVs while jabbering on their phones apparently find mere bicyclist and pedestrians invisible.
The Bicycle Menace - P.J. O'Rourke (Score:2)
Hilarious! Must read:
http://www.hotels-in-netherlands.com/bikereadercom/contributors/misc/menace.html
Right, everyone has suddenly moved to the burbs (Score:2)
Over the last 3 years? Totally unlikely.
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Of course they do. Resistance is futile.
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Or sitting in traffic.
I have never seen a congested bike path in America. If you mean car traffic, then bikes can bypass that by riding on the shoulder. Worse traffic would explain an increase in bicycle commuting, but not a decrease.
I think most people are just lazy sloth's.
But have the become slothier since 2016? If so, that should show up in other data as well, such as people walking less, and falling gym memberships.
Re: Or (Score:2)
Hummm... 0-60 mph is ~0-100kph. I think since most people drive between 85-100 kph, the latter scale makes more sense.
Before people remind me of the South and Midwest, most people in the US live near cities and use 55mph roads.
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No idea where these numbers come from other than they're probably made up, but "bicycle commuters" are not the only cyclists nor are cyclists ignored. Cycling infrastructure is for cyclists, not commuters.
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How do you know that no one rides on it? Do you? If not, you have no idea, otherwise you are proof otherwise.
Bike lanes, like roads, often appear empty even when they are used frequently.
I bike commute daily on a path just like that and I see it used all the time, yet I regularly experience ignorant comments such as your about those very paths in my area. Odds are, you're simply not interested and feel entitled to comment on something you know nothing about.
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My town (northern AZ) is well-equipped with bike lanes, but we also have a lot of roundabouts, which are relatively new in the state as a whole. Drivers here know that the bike lanes do not continue through roundabouts; bikers are supposed to merge in-line through each roundabout. Unfortunately tourists do not know this, and as a result cyclists are steadily being selected out of the road population. But be warned, for they are evolving the ability to shoot back.
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... a $2500 Peloton in that spare bedroom, and it holds up the extra bedspread quite well...
There is a valid reason for that: when you do ride somewhere, there are not many safe places to park a $2500 Peloton.
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I am guessing a lot of these 'missing' bike riders are the working homeless. Now in Florida, probably Ohio too, the spread wasn't
Re: People Drive To Avoid in the US (Score:2)
America getting rid of CA is like the housewife getting rid of her bread-earning husband.
Re: People Drive To Avoid in the US (Score:2)
And yet, 70 years later, those women still aren't earning as much as the men they left.
Re: Inconvenient as hell... (Score:2)
Or maybe you don't understand physiology.
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Depending one where you are, there may be other options.
Check the train schedule where you live. I used to work about 35 miles from home (if I drove on the freeway). I'd bike a couple of days a week to the train station, 15 miles away. I'd take the train in and then bike the last mile or two. Total time way about an hour-and-a-half, versus 45 minutes or so on the freeway.
No shower at the office? Sponge bath. Wash your cycling clothes in the sink and hang them up. Problem solved.
As for the family, you