critical mass - Melbourne

[jcjordan]

Also while riding 100k each day is certainly a lot, I dispute that it would add 4 hours to travelling times. A fit cyclist would probably take around 2.5 hours each way. To drive or train the same distance would be take 1-2 hours, so in fact the ride would probably add 1-3 hours (I'd put money on it being closer to one), not 4.

I would suspect that the time to work would very much depend on the route that you were able to take.

I ride to work 2 days a week, 2 on the train and drive one. I should also point out that I leave at the same time each day, 0600.

To work is 38km and takes me about 1hr 10 min on the bike, about 1hr 30min by train and 1hr by car. The interesting part is that I ride the exact same route I drive.

Going home I am normally going to a mates place so I can extend the route so I do about 50-60km on average. The thing is that this takes me about 2hrs; because I have to climb some hills to get home (namely one big one which is 3.5km long at a average of 4%).

I will admit that flying down Cross road at 35+ km/hr and seeing the cars sitting still always makes me smile. I have even gotten abused by a ****** in his V8 monstrosity because he was going slower then me.

Now I am not really fit, but I do over 250km a week on average. Not everyone wants to do that much though.

I am a firm believer that terrain would be one of the key factors in whether people would consider using a bike to commute to work. Well I have put my 2c in.

 

[Phuong L]

It is ludicrous to tell someone that has to travel 50+ kilometers to work each day to ride a bike

... but it's not ludicrous to tell someone to drive a polluting, traffic-congesting motor vehicle 50+km every day? Like SomeGuy said, we're not telling them to bike 50+km to work. We're telling them to use a more sustainable method of transport, especially in the city where there is not enough room for every single person to drive a motor vehicle. In Sydney, the public transport system currently sucks and so there have been plans to building another motorway. This is not a solution. We need the government to divert the money planned to build more motorways into public transport so fewer people will feel the need to drive their cars.

A large number of people drive short distances every day. These are people who could be riding bikes, but don't for whatever reason.

Just thought I'd help back up your claim
Refer to page 9 of the draft national cycling strategy which can be downloaded at:
www.abc.dotars.gov.au/downloads/NationalCyclingStrategy_Draft_12April2005.pdf
(863kb)

"A high number of car trips in Australia's largest cities are less than 5km long. In many cases, these trips could be undertaken by bicycle - given appropriate changes in community attitudes and the travel environment.

City; Proportion of car trips below 3km; Proportion of car trips below 5km
Brisbane 37% 54%
Sydney 25% 42%
Melbourne 37% 52%"

I was cycling home yesterday (Friday) afternoon at 5:30pm and was crossing Cleveland Road in Sydney. Traffic was at an absolutely standsill with cars lined up all the way down the road. Why weren't people complaining about all the motorists congesting the whole road and slowing other motorists down? But when bicyclists do it (especially that one time each month), it's a different matter! As a minority we get picked on. People are afraid of change and don't like pointing out their own flaws.

 

[jur]

Regarding convincing ppl to ride instead of driving, I believe there is only one way that would be really effective: Make the price of petrol high. As in seriously high. The world faces this situation anyway, sooner rather than later, when the oil shortage hits. Ppl are selfish at the core, and the only way to get to that core is via the hip pocket. CM rides won't convince many ppl at all. Look at the pathetic efforts at waste recycling. The only way to make a big diff is to make them pay through the nose. Unfortuately, one country can't do this by itself, it would be at a trading disadvantage, and besides any federal gov't would be voted into orbit if they tried a stunt like that. So, I'm afraid we are stuck with the present status until forced to jump.