High gas prices lead to surge in mass transit use. "Around the country, high gas prices are pushing more people to leave their cars at home and crowd onto trains, buses and subways. And while that's usually good news for transit agencies, some are struggling to accommodate new riders at a time when tight budgets are making local and state governments reluctant to put more money toward public transportation."
It's good to see how fast people can/will adapt to change. A little bit of planning and forethought would have been nice, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose.
Not because of the price but rather because I'm trying to decrease my fuel consumption, I've started riding my bike to work. Cost me a lot of money to tune up, get new tires and other accompaniments....around $600. If I had a conventional car, I'd make this up a lot faster. 20 mile round trip so no need to go to the gym excepting when it rains. Have a pretty large canvas carrier on the back to fit in groceries, etc. when I run errands on the way home. Around these parts, it sure doesn't seem that others are amending their ways. Streets are still clogged with SUV's.
My current round trip commute is 25 miles, mostly freeway. (That's why I bought the Prius, to prepare for a long commute if necessary.) But, my school has decided they don't need a Librarian and have discontinued the position. So come Fall I'll be at a different school, possibly teaching I have no idea what grade or subject. I know for a fact the middle school I used to teach at is going to need a librarian. The district has RIFd all of the probationary employees and their library was only hired in November of 2007 so I know she will be gone. IF, and it's a big IF I get that job, it's only 0.7 miles from my house, mostly flat. I would get rid of my ten speed bike and get a nice, much more comfortable, street bike. Maybe even get a basket or some sort of towing trailer thing to use during the nice weather, of which San Diego has a lot. I could so easily bike to school. As the Librarian, I don't have to carry things back and forth every day like I do as a teacher. And I could certainly benefit from the exercise as well. Yes, my dream job. If only.
Good luck, Godiva! My commute is ~2.5 miles and I can barely find an excuse to drive. It's pouring rain today and I still rode in. I have a nice set of waterproof panniers from Ortlieb (.com) on my hybrid bike (Yes, it's a hybrid, just not the same kind of hybrid as my Prius ). I get to work faster by bike than by car! I know more than one person who stopped driving to work and started riding the bus because of high fuel prices. I think it's a little short-sighted of them, especially the ones who drive SUVs in the first place, but I'm still glad people can come around to a sensible way of thinking.
The bad news is that it works even FASTER in the reverse. Just witness what happened after 1973... that brought us to where we are today - where people use 6,000+ pound vehicles for their daily commuters. If gas were to drop back to a paltry $3.50 today, the general buying public would flock back to their old ways. At least that is what history has shown.
Hats off to Godiva and Ichibod for being part of the solution! I just gave an interview yesterday - all they wanted to hear about was my EV and how I was saving the planet. I called BS, and pointed to my family's stable of eight bikes. THAT is what saves the planet. I'm the first to admit that even EVs are not sustainable. They're just a big step to get off of oil. And then we got back to the EV. I'll probably come off sounding like a dork, but I should be on KQED Quest on Monday.
Good luck, Godiva. My husband had a commute a little longer than you and is now about 10 minutes from the house. You'll enjoy your extra free time for sure. An added benefit of biking to work is the mood alteration that comes with it. Takes a big edge off stress.
Oh boy, isn't that the truth? Fuel here is around $1.32 a litre, about $5 a US gallon, and I don't think its anywhere near high enough. Plenty of suv and pickup trucks being driven by idiots, flooring it at every green light, flying past you on the Trans Canada at 120 klicks Yet those retards are the first ones to complain about how much gas costs. Well, TFB I guess you're SOL
Damn, $600 to tune it up? How much did it cost? By the way, both you and Godiva be careful riding on your bikes. Wouldn't want you to get hit by someone not paying attention.
Of course, there are many, many differences between now and 1973. EV's can be sustainable. Nothings sustainable if you scale it out ad infinitum. (did I just make up a new word there? Ad nauseum would have worked too).
You don't have to tell me to be careful. I've already been hit in '97 and fractured my back. It's taken me this long to get back on the horse. Oops, the $600 was for both bikes. We got new seats, a tune up, new helmets, hybrid tires, cargo pack, etc....
It's good to hear more and more people are riding bikes to work...errands...ect. Kind of like seeing more and more of the Prius's over the years on the road...we're now seeing more and more bikes as well!
I contend that they're sustainable to run... but not sustainable to build/drive/recycle. Beats the hell out of what we're doing now - just like driving a Prius is better than driving a regular gas car. But I still don't think it is sustainable. How many EV proponents do you know who'll say that?
That may change with new technologies yet to be worked out. You may be right with Steel, Copper, etc being the primary components, but that is just the economics of todays infrastucture. One of the key focuses of the Rocky Mountain Institute is changing this very massive, yet primitive vehicle infrastructure. This issue should become one of the big "environmental" issues that results in making EV's out of "composites" and a future focus on end to end recovery of all materials. (There are more urgent problems to solve before this is at the top of the list.) Or to sum up, the ultimate sustainable solutions to transporting people does not preclude a vehicle fueled with electicity, just the one with vehicles based on 1920s automobile materials. (but a bike is a better answer, no debate there)
