Carless Day

I do not see the reason why this proposal was not approved. The dutch people and the chinese use their bikes on certain parts of their country as a means for their daily commute. Why not It is good for the health and the environment as well as on your pocket. Any campaign needs a good support from the heads of any organization or country and some role models

I don't see it happening in any big city, the revenue and productivity lost would be phonemenal. Maybe the city can cooperate with local businesses and have a "free drink when you ride your bicycle" day?

Keyan said:

I do not see the reason why this proposal was not approved. The dutch people and the chinese use their bikes on certain parts of their country as a means for their daily commute. Why not It is good for the health and the environment as well as on your pocket. Any campaign needs a good support from the heads of any organization or country and some role models

We were in Beijing, China last January and I saw for myself the use of bicycles. Chinese people seem to love bicycles for their convenience because the climate is cold (it was zero degree when we were there, I was freezing, brrr). According to the hotel concierge, the bike is the symbol of the Chinese working class so if you are humble then you don't use your car in commuting but the bike instead. Over here, the hot climate may be the reason why that proposal for a carless day every week did not push through.

If we can have such a day in my area then I will be very happy. Cyclists want to cycle in an environment where they feel safe, mostly those new to cycling. That is when you get to know your full riding speed. Avoiding traffic is a good thing while cycling.

There is no way the people of Manila is going to do a bike day and not use motor vehicles to get around. The traffic here is horrendous and very unsafe. I don't see the whole nation using bikes and walking to work. It's not happening, ever.

joshposh said:

There is no way the people of Manila is going to do a bike day and not use motor vehicles to get around. The traffic here is horrendous and very unsafe. I don't see the whole nation using bikes and walking to work. It's not happening, ever.

The idea of carless day is to do away with the heavy traffic even just one day each week. It actually started from the environmentalists who say that heavy traffic causes more pollution in the urban areas. We were already a bit excited because the news reports at the time said that the proposal is becoming a reality soon. I really don't know what happened, why the move for a carless day died just like that. It's not politics but maybe just a lack of support or lack of justification on the part of the proponents.

Some people are too lazy to bike, so I don't think it will work because they will put up a big fuss.

I think it's half laziness & half fear that the ride will tamper with the quality of work you get from yourself/your employees. Of course, that's just sheer ignorance but you can't fix that the easy way I've noticed. If anything you would think people would realize that it gets your juices flowing for the day. Who needs 8 cups of coffee?

Corzhens said:

The idea of carless day is to do away with the heavy traffic even just one day each week. It actually started from the environmentalists who say that heavy traffic causes more pollution in the urban areas. We were already a bit excited because the news reports at the time said that the proposal is becoming a reality soon. I really don't know what happened, why the move for a carless day died just like that. It's not politics but maybe just a lack of support or lack of justification on the part of the proponents.

Like I said earlier, there is no way the Philippine people will stop using Jeepneys and Trike to get around.

Wow! "Inconveniencing the middle class". What about inconveniencing the environment with toxic car fumes, noise and general ugliness?
I'd say the dedicated people of Manila need to take matters into their own hands and keep lobbying for their right to have a zone in the city where they can ride their bikes in peace once a week. That's not too much to ask for, or is it?

I'd like to see a carless day in the United States. Obviously, that's not going to happen, even in the most liberal of large cities, but it could be implemented on a smaller basis in little cities and towns. The purpose behind such a day makes sense, although you can't just tell people that they can't drive their cars in most countries that don't already have legislation that controls such matters like in Mexico City.

Just the other day, the president of our country was on the news about the gargantuan problem of traffic in Metro Manila. He had mentioned a carless day that would be observed in September 27, 2015. Gee, that was unexpected because I really thought that the issue of the carless day had died a natural death. Maybe the government has seen the potential of biking to work which is a great way to reduce not only traffic but pollution as well. For a start, that declaration of the president is an auspicious one.

Corzhens said:

We were in Beijing, China last January and I saw for myself the use of bicycles. Chinese people seem to love bicycles for their convenience because the climate is cold (it was zero degree when we were there, I was freezing, brrr). According to the hotel concierge, the bike is the symbol of the Chinese working class so if you are humble then you don't use your car in commuting but the bike instead. Over here, the hot climate may be the reason why that proposal for a carless day every week did not push through.

As you have said on your main post it was just a day of going carless, so I think the people there will be able to endure just a day of a hot climate all in the name of change and making a statement. I think in your example China is such an inspiration just like the Dutch and other European countries that are into cycling. Maybe it is in the culture or mindset of people too.

I would love my city to have carless commuting days but I just can't see it happening.
The layout of the city and surrounding areas just isn't practical for people with long commutes.
It's not uncommon here to have a commute of an hour or longer each way, which just isn't manageable on bike for most people. The hours commute is bad enough by car but cycling you're suddenly talking about 4 or more hours a day just getting to and from work.
It's something that I can see working in smaller towns maybe.
There are places in the US such as Mackinac Island where motor vehicles are prohibited and everyone cycles, so there's obviously a significant number of people who are on board with a carless lifestyle.
I think ultimately though the infrastructure needs to support an idea like this, and pretty much every modern city is designed with motor vehicles in mind.

What you don't realize is the number of lazy people that would not think of getting anywhere without their cars. These are the ones who will fight such a proposal tooth and nail.

Runnerdo said:

What you don't realize is the number of lazy people that would not think of getting anywhere without their cars. These are the ones who will fight such a proposal tooth and nail.

You are right, those people with cars will be fighting that carless day proposal. In fairness to the people with cars, they are just savoring their hard earned prize called a car. It is no joke to take the public transportation if you are not physically strong. The crowded buses and trains will give your body a challenge that you may not endure mentally. And making matters worse is the probability of crimes. Losing your wallet or phone to a crowded bus or train is traumatic. So if I have a car, why deprive me of its use?

gavinfree said:

I'd like to see a carless day in the United States. Obviously, that's not going to happen, even in the most liberal of large cities, but it could be implemented on a smaller basis in little cities and towns. The purpose behind such a day makes sense, although you can't just tell people that they can't drive their cars in most countries that don't already have legislation that controls such matters like in Mexico City.

Although I know of a few western US cities that are more bike friendly than the rest of the country, I agree with you, Gavinfree. I don't believe that it would even be possible to have a carless day here. Most of the major cities arent equipped to have that many bikes on the road. I would like to do it for myself though, and take 2 or 3 days out of the week to just use my bike to get around.

How about those lazy people can pay to have a person tote them around on a bike too!
Win Win and we create some jobs!

I like the idea of a carless day. With obesity in UK skyrocketing, it would be a good incentive to get people on the bikes and burning some of those calories.

Unfortunately though, I can't see this happening. I can't see it happening at all anywhere in UK really.