There are two words that are often used interchangeably when it comes to cycling, ‘Encouraging’ and ‘enabling’. Both are positive-sounding words beginning with the same two letters and ending with the same three, but that is where the similarities end. Continue reading Encouraging and enabling are not the same thing…
One thing the snow can give us is a sense of perspective. Just like at Christmas, everything stops. We stay at home; we spend time with our families and we get out and walk places. Our world falls silent. Continue reading Silence…
Before we start: yes I know this is a personal anecdote and not a fully fledged data/evidence backed peer reviewed analysis but that’s not to say we shouldn’t ignore the experiences we, er, experience on our daily business. I commute in Cardiff by bike. My route is about 20-25 minutes depending on how quick or not I decide to ride and a fair chunk of my commute is down the Taff Trail. One evening last week as I left work with a friend and colleague who also commutes on the Taff Trail we made an observation that surprised us both. … Continue reading An Anecdotal Example of Cardiff's Congestion Problem
In the Council’s transport strategy it is said that they are aiming for 50% of journeys made by sustainable means. How this 50% is broken down isn’t clear, but the council certainly has its work cut out if it wants to grow bus trips, not to mention trips by bike. Cost per mile… This week the news broke that Cardiff Bus was increasing the cost of its fares, suggesting that congestion was contributing to its operating costs. If you think about it, just like any commercial vehicle when it isn’t moving, it isn’t earning. A while ago we wrote about … Continue reading About that ‘50% of journeys by sustainable transport’ aim…
Traffic agency Inrix analysed traffic and congestion in 1,064 cities across 38 countries worldwide, including Cardiff. It worked out that the average cost to Cardiff’s drivers of being sat in their own congestion was £939 per year. You can read Cardiff’s … Continue reading Traffic jams, congestion, cognitive dissonance…
One of the great things about being on a bike is that we can fit into smaller spaces than cars can. This means that, unlike a car, we can effectively jump queues of stationary traffic with relative ease. However, there is a right way to do this… The Primary Position Contrary to what some ill-informed drivers would have you believe, there are two positions for us on the road. As vehicles (or carriages), we have just as much right to be on the road as anyone else, but out of courtesy, we often spend our time in the secondary position … Continue reading A Rough Guide to Filtering
