pedaller

JCDecaux Leading the Way in Sustainable Advertising Media

2009-06-25T15:39:00.003+10:00

JCDecaux could arguably claim to be Australia's most sustainable provider of advertising media.
Their 7 point environmental management plan includes:

net zero electricity - using solar panels and low energy lighting
net zero water consumption - using captured water in cleaning processes
zero waste to landfill - reducing waste and promoting usage of recyclable materials
benchmarking fuel efficiency and emissions -
improving community engagement - providing free advertising media for a large number of charities, communities and arts organisations, as well as providing 'free' bicycle hire using the cyclocity bicycle rental system (soon to be implemented in Brisbane).
ensuring all their suppliers comply with the sustainability goals
ensuring a sustainable corporate culture

Now, as a cyclist and pedestrian, I am far from being a fan of billboards on footpaths, but it appears that the trade-off for the Brisbane City bike hire scheme does not include additional billboards. The scheme is estimated to be costing Brisbane City Council ratepayers $800,000 per year for the next 20 years. And cyclists could benefit from additional spending on cycling infrastructure.

Get Inspired in September

2008-09-08T07:59:00.002+10:00

I admit to being a big fan of the Paralympics. I find all these athletes inspirational.

If you missed Chris Scott taking gold in the individual pursuit (CP4) or Lindy Hou and pilot Toireasa Gallagher claiming bronze in the 1km blind and visually impaired time trial or indeed the game of the year between Brazil and Australia in the wheelchair basketball (a real cliffhanger in which Brazil led from the start and Australia won by one point in the last 5 seconds!) then it's time you tuned into the ABC.

And the added bonus is that the commentary is fantastic! I only hope that the commercial channels are watching so they can see and hear what good coverage is like.

Metropolis 2008

2008-08-31T10:50:00.002+10:00

In October, Sydney will host Metropolis 2008, a meeting of Government and NGO representatives to talk about the issues of the day, eg, transport, urban development, sustainability, climate change, etc, etc.

In Mayor Clover Moore's welcome she says,

Like other world cities, Sydney is grappling with the challenges posed by climate change and the opportunities these challenges offer to re-invent our cities in exciting and sustainable ways.

So it is interesting to note some of the optional tours being offered to delegates, eg, Harley Davidson tours, Jet boat, and sea plane tours. Obviously these are being offered to those delegates disinterested in climate change and sustainability.

And, while lip service is being paid to the use of public transport, it is interesting that public transport is not listed as a way to get around the various sites, eg, coach transfer to The Rocks, coach transfer to the Zoo, coach transfer to the Harbour Bridge, coach transfer to the Opera House. For heaven's sake, all these places are quite easy to access by public transport, walking and cycling! Fancy not recommending the ferry to get to the zoo, I mean, the views you get from the ferry alone are worth every cent even if you live in Sydney! And, God forbid, these exalted delegates might even get a chance to experience what it's like to catch a train, a bus, or a ferry in a city.

Why have this sort of talk fest if the people talking don't experience the day-to-day reality of living in a city?

Marketing Lesson for Bicycle Brands

2008-08-07T08:44:00.005+10:00

During the Tour de France coverage on SBS we were constantly bombarded by 2 ads, one for a car and one for a bicycle. There are important marketing lessons to learn from watching these with regards to encouraging cycling, so sit back for the next minute and watch them again:
Skoda Car Ad

Avanti Bicycle Ad

Now, ask yourself which ad engaged you more, and why.

They are both beautiful ads.
But the reality is, car brands have long understood that the target audience is, well, people. Not cars. So you need to engage people in the brand experience. A successful car ad incorporates people experiencing something unique about the car. For Skoda this is about being "clever" and "simple".

Now for the avanti ad. Like most bicycle ads, there is not a person in sight. "You" are mentioned twice. Avanti, "the evolution continues", "going forward", but no mention of people. "I" am not engaged.

TV ads are expensive, so finding examples of bicycle TVCs is hard in Australia. Print, on the other hand is cheaper, so there are more examples. But, if you're like me, you tend not to engage at all in print ads. In newspapers and magazines you expect the ads to be on the left hand side of the page, so you really don't look at that page at all. You expect the ads to be more colourful than the stories, so your eyes gloss over the colour. Similarly with internet ads, you ignore the pop-ups, animations, banners and towers, because you know that's where the ads will be.
Car brands understand all this, so often the print ads are simple, and often employ long copy in the hope that interested people will read it. But it's really about brand recognition and frequency.
Bicycle ads are often limited to bicycle magazines, so playing on features is fine, afterall the people reading the magazine have already expressed their interest in bikes by reading the mag. Engaging people in the ad would be better though.
Occasionally, bicycle ads are incorporated into mass media.
The image below was used by Apollo in 2007 in Good Weekend magazines and Australian Cyclist, with the tagline "where will it take you?"

The series of ads featured some nice scenic images, and incorporated people which is a big plus. In one of the ads, one of the cyclists was actually smiling!
The tag line is brilliant, but wasted. "Where will it take you?" invites you on a flight of fancy journey, but the imagery is very mundane, typically a couple of cyclists on a bit of road somewhere. If a car brand had run this tagline, they would have thought about the emotional connection between where people are now and where they'd like to be, eg, from office drudgery to exploring the great outdoors, from boredom sitting in your car in a traffic jam to experiencing the freedom and enjoyment of movement, from watching le Tour on TV to participating on your own bike.

So what? Who cares? Why does it matter?

If we want to get more people to cycle, and especially if you want to encourage commuter cycling, it is very important that we understand the trigger factors. The "thing" that will make people think "I could ride to work". And it starts with bike brands, just like car brands, differentiating themselves from each other in the minds of consumers. For commuter bike brands, the trigger needs to be an emotional connection with current car commuters, or dissatisfied public transport users.

Petersham's Night of Nights

2008-08-06T10:12:00.003+10:00

Quite a large turnout for Climate Change Minister Penny Wong and her entourage of police at the Petersham RSL last night. Indeed, so many people arrived that the hall was filled to capacity and some were turned away.

Dr Ben McNeil, Senior research fellow at the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, gave a brief and rather unscientific discussion of what climate change is (I still shudder at his explanation of sea levels rising due to "hot water expanding"), but nobody cared because nobody was really listening. Everyone just wanted to ask Penny Wong questions.

And eventually Penny Wong made her speech. As usual she actually told us very little, but hit all the right trigger words for the audience,eg, "balanced approach", "considering the options", "equity considerations", etc etc. But once again nobody cared, because people were only there to ask questions.

And then it arrived. Question time. 21 people out of a crowd of hundreds got the opportunity to ask a question. The Light Rail lobby was there to ask for Federal support to get the light rail (ie, tram) extended to the inner west where it might actually do some good. The controversial population control question got asked, but not really answered. The sensible question about why we are considering a system that has pretty much failed miserably all over the world is being introduced here was asked, and not really answered. The only real surprise of the evening was that a question got slipped in about petrol pricing and dear Penny pretty much confirmed that petrol would not be included in any Emissions Trading Scheme.

So, feeling pretty disappointed in the whole circus, we headed out and collided with cycling friends. And, ofcourse, the discussion gravitated to cycling infrastructure and advocacy. Given the total disillusionment of many cyclists in the area with Bicycle NSW, it has been suggested that the local BUGs join forces to form their own organisation to promote cycling. This is already happening in a small way, eg, The National Roads and Cyclists Association, with the tagline "helping cyclists". There is also a group of the same name on facebook that you can join. So the night wasn't a total waste of time afterall.

Posties to get Back on Their Bicycles?

2008-08-05T07:58:00.004+10:00

2 years ago I wrote a post on postie bikes when we noted that when posties changed from human powered bicycles to petrol motorbikes the payloads decreased from 140kg to 130kg, and, unsurprisingly, posties got fatter.

Well it appears there may be a bit of a rethink happening over at Australia Post.
Tricycles to fit the bill for posties.
Using power-assisted tricycles, postie payloads could be pushed back up to 150kg.

But it appears that the rationale for this does not revolve around issues of the environment, payloads, or even the health and welfare of workers. No. The issue appears to be that it has become difficult to fill postie vacancies because of the requirement that they need a motorbike licence.

The "green" car myth

2008-08-04T10:49:00.003+10:00

I've been thinking about the limited press response to the Government's Green Paper on a Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme which is why I've been looking over media stories like this one below:
Going nowhere fast in car fuel efficiency

In research for the Garnaut Climate Change Review, Melbourne University's Dr Paul Mees has used Australian Bureau of Statistics figures to show that fuel efficiency has remained practically unchanged since 1963.

In 1963 the average Australian car used 11.4 litres of petrol to travel 100 kilometres. Today, the new Ford G series boasts, in its promotional material, of its "exceptional fuel efficiency", ie, 10.11L/100km.

I know I've done this before, but let me summarise for you the fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions for various types of cars:

Vehicle	Fuel Efficiency (L/100km)	CO₂ emissions (tonnes per 10,000km)
Toyota Prius (hybrid)	4.4	1.3
Electric Car		1.3
Mercedes Smart Car	4.7	1.4
VW Polo	5.01	1.5
FG Falcon	10.11	3

Right now, in Australia, there is no real difference in greenhouse gas emissions between choosing a hybrid car, an electric car, or small petrol or diesel car. Any suggestions to the contrary are just greenwashing. If you want to reduce air pollution, noise pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions, the only option available is to get people out of cars!

If you missed the wonderful documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" while it was screening in Australia, don't despair, it is now available on youtube (broken up into 11 parts)!

The Age Promotes Cycling Without A Helmet

2008-08-03T11:12:00.003+10:00

In The Age today: Four steps to tackle global warming right now
1/ Ride a Bicycle
2/ End Special Deals for 4WDs
3/ Insist on Fuel Efficient Cars
4/ Abolish fringe benefits tax anomaly

About the bicycles:

While the company was happy to pay for the bikes, which retail for around $1000 and are available to customers for short trips, a new tax proposal from Bicycle Victoria would mean that employees could be given a huge incentive to ride to work.

Under the scheme, workers could claim up to $1500 of the cost of a bike and riding equipment as a tax-free income, provided they log at least 25 kilometres a week commuting.

To qualify, they would need to log this distance for at least 12 weeks and could claim the break once every two years.

What a pity the company doesn't consider it has a care of duty toward its workers to provide approved bicycle helmets and ensure they are worn.

A big thumbs up for sustainable transport.

A big thumbs up for promotional gimmick.

A big thumbs down for portraying cyclists, yet again, as law-breaking hooligans!

JC Decaux Shortchanges Dublin on Bike Hire Deal

2008-08-02T13:10:00.004+10:00

This story Was Dublin 'shortchanged' on free bikes and can advertising be dangerous and can citizen activism do something about the problem highlights one of the problems associated with JCDecaux's "free" bike hire scheme.

Dublin City Council recently signed a deal with advertising group JCDecaux which would see a number of advertising panels erected on the city’s streets in return for some rent-able bikes. The first of these adverts have been put up in recent days and have quickly proven to be a major traffic and pedestrian hazard...

Pedestrians, motorists and cyclists know that billboards can be dangerous if they are erected in inappropriate locations, it's Councils that don't seem to understand this (assuming they have control over where these billboards are erected which often seems unlikely).

So, what was the original deal?
Back in July 2007:

Dublin has agreed to let J C Decaux erect 120 billboards on public footpaths around the city. In return the agency will provide 500 bicycles for low rent at 25 locations. It will also supply four kiosks with public lavatories, maps and signposts. The value to Dublin is calculated at €85m.

ie, 1 bike hire facility for every 5 new billboards!

Now in July 2008:

Over the last few weeks I have noticed a number of these very large street advertisements at various locations throughout the city ......

OH! forgot to mention that there is no sign of the bicycles

Ofcourse the other point that no-one ever seems to consider is the impact these bike hire schemes have on bike hire businesses already operating in the city. If Councils would allow for the expansion of these businesses using the same sort of automated technology on public land that they are happy to provide to Adshel and JCDecaux, without the expectation of profiting to the tune of millions of dollars every year, then we would be improving the economic health of our Australian businesses, rather than destroying them.

Sydney Commuting Challenge

2008-08-01T08:04:00.004+10:00

The Sydney Morning Herald's Commuter Challenge Public transport? You're better off on your bike features a lovely photo of a Bike Addiction jersey.

And before you all turn off and comment that you're sick and tired of these sorts of challenges, just think, every time this is done it makes cycling look good in the press, so it is worthwhile and we should support it enthusiastically.

So, to the results:

Two wheels good, four wheels bad, motor scooter wins the "race" in 25 minutes.

All this and no allocated lane 32 minutes for 15.5km equates to an average speed of about 29km/h for the cyclist. Pretty good going when you think of the number of traffic lights along the way!

Consolation heater car took 37 minutes. Average speed about 25km/h.

Bus and train took over an hour.

But the real congratulations must go to the runner I feel great but I don't look it who took 80 minutes to travel 16.4km (by pedometer), average speed about 12km/h. Good luck in the upcoming City to Surf!

But what effect will all of this have on the Minister responsible for "fixing" our public transport woes? Very little if his comment in the Herald is anything to go by,

Your Top Gear-style transport challenge clearly shows the diverse travel options Sydney residents use to get to work every day.

Bike Riding in The Age

2008-07-21T09:57:00.002+10:00

The Age has a nice "feel good" story about riding a bike today A bike often gets you there quicker.

Like everyone else, pedaller has been totally absorbed by the Tour de France and the late nights are killing me! But I wouldn't miss it for the world this year.
For those of you who are not yet addicted, you can catch up with the highlights so far at SBS.

Changes to NSW Road Rules

2008-06-22T07:20:00.002+10:00

You can check out the full list of changes to the NSW road rules at the RTA website
2008nswrrchanges.pdf

For cyclists the major changes are to do with the expected construction of bike boxes on the road, referred to as "bicycle storage areas". On some roads, painted boxes on the road in front of the traffic lanes will provide an area for up to 2 bicycles to wait in front of the cars at traffic signals. Motorised vehicles will not be able to creep over these lines to stand in the bike box.

Scooters (human powered) and unicycles have now been placed in the "wheeled recreational device and toys" category. This seems to imply that it is legal to ride these on footpaths, shared paths, and some roads (but not at night), unless there is a sign prohibiting their use. (See pages 11 and 12 of the pdf)

The Sydney Morning Herald has a story Critics see red as laws hand bikes pole position that outlines the fines motorists face for breaking the new rules.

New laws hit drivers with tough three-demerit-point penalties and fines of $342 if their cars drift into special bicycle waiting zones to be installed at many intersections across the metropolitan area.
If it is in a school zone, drivers who enter the painted cycle zone will be up for four demerit points and a $405 fine.

Opposition spokesman on road safety Andrew Fraser should immediately be removed from his post and sentenced to a lifetime of cycling for these comments:

"While we need to be mindful of safety for cyclists, these bicycle zones at lights are dangerous," Mr Fraser said.

"You are inviting all cyclists to wait in the middle of the road rather than on the side of the road where drivers expect them to be. It is putting them directly into the path of traffic."

Dear Mr Fraser, the safest place for cyclists to be on the road is in the middle of a traffic lane where they are the most visible, safe from road side debris and mindless car drivers in parked cars. The changes to the road rules are not putting cyclists "directly into the path of traffic" because cyclists are, legally, traffic!

Paris Set to be Car Heaven

2008-06-21T09:35:00.003+10:00

Paris is set to encourage more city traffic congestion with its tender for "autolib", electric car hire in the city. (Cell of the century for self-serve electric cars).
Even Green party councillors in Paris are skeptical, warning that,

encouraging the public to use any type of car instead of giving incentives to stick to bikes and public transport was a bad move.

(Paris plans help-yourself green car hire)

The electric hire car stations will be recharging stops around the city, which in France is a very great environmental concern because France relies heavily on non-renewable energy sources. More than 75% of all French electricity comes from nuclear power stations, the "cleaner", "greener", potentially lethal, energy alternative.

Flying the Green Flag

2008-06-20T08:12:00.002+10:00

In Paris, one of those cities that Sydney loves to cite as a haven for cyclists of the commuting or recreational variety, Radiohead had 50 free passes up for grabs, free if you rode your bicycle to collect them. Unfortunately the stunt backfired, Ticket deal’s a Radio-dead loss with only 15 people riding out to get their free passes. Does this mean that Radiohead's audience is not as committed to the environment as the band is? Or are Parisians just not that keen on the humble bicycle?

Closer to home in Adelaide, Democrat Kanck wants Adelaide CBD to be petrol free, her argument is that eventually oil will run out anyway so why not plan for that now, starting with the removal of petrol driven vehicles from the CBD by 2012.

with a bit of imagination and planning we can turn this adversity into an opportunity for urban renewal.

Democrat MP Sandra Kanck gets my vote!

Sustainability in the City

2008-06-19T09:10:00.003+10:00

Sustainable Sydney 2030 gives us a peek at how the City of Sydney will develop over the next 22 years.
Green Transformers are mentioned quite a bit, and in today's Age the promoters of these transformers write a bit more about them in Sustainability must start in cities.
I confess I know nothing about transformers, but I really can't see how a transformer burning natural gas or biomass to produce carbon dioxide is of any benefit over the current transformers. I suspect the key is really in using the current waste heat to do some useful work, and I'm surprised that large city transformers don't do that already.

I digress however.
Back to the point: 'sustainable cities'.

Roads already exist. The bitumen used to make roads comes from the petroleum industry. As petroleum (read oil) prices increase, the cost of building and repairing roads will also increase. So, one of the keys to making cities more sustainable should be to encourage forms of transport that do the least road damage, and have the lowest impact on the environment. Building motorised vehicles that reduce environmental impact will not reduce road damage, but encouraging active forms of transport (read cycling, walking, skateboarding etc) will.

Encouraging people to physically exert themselves is hard. So, don't try to encourage them. Prevent them from using damaging forms of transport! Which brings me to New York city, Where the Streets Have No Cars. New York has roughly the same population as Australia. It has a dedicated car culture. And yet, they are prepared to temporarily close off some roads to motorised traffic,

On three August Saturdays this summer, New Yorkers will be able to ride their bikes all the way from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park – a 6.9-mile route - without a single cabbie honking at them or absent-minded driver smashing them into a parked car.

This rare opportunity comes courtesy of the newly-launched "Summer Streets" program. For six hours, a major route running north and south along the island of Manhattan will be closed to traffic and opened up to walkers, cyclists, even outdoor yoga classes hosted by the gym chain Crunch Fitness.

The only times we close off streets in Sydney is if someone plays enough money, eg, filming movies and commercials, or if a foreign nation (or our own government) demands it for "security" reasons.

Why can't we, a very small city in comparison to New York, manage a similar program of temporary road closures to entice people to enjoy our city?
Why can't we, even temporarily, replace the never-ending noise of traffic with the sounds of happy people enjoying themselves?
Why can't we, even for a short time, enjoy a breath of fresh air in an otherwise dirty, smelly, city?

Achieving a Bicycle Culture

2008-06-18T08:13:00.004+10:00

Today's Sydney Morning Herald contains 2 (two) cycling stories!

Taste the freedom that comes with bicycling shares this pearl of wisdom,

Even if you threw money at making cycle lanes, it wouldn't create a bike culture on its own

and goes on to suggest that it required a holistic approach:
1/ encourage children to ride
2/ provide lanes to ride on
3/ make cycling attractive

And here's another gem regarding bicycle culture:

It's a bit like how having a car is a status symbol in some countries - do you have a red Porsche or a white Peugeot? In Denmark, if you have a Christiana bike (a trike which can carry children, weights and loads), or a Biomega cycle, you're saying who you are.

Ofcourse its all a plug for the Dreams on Wheels exhibit which ends in Sydney on Saturday.

Tips to be saddle happy gives some relevant pointers to choose the right bicycle for you.

It goes on to suggest a few resources that might help you in choosing the right bicycle.
bicyclensw.org.au
cyclingpromotion.com.au
bike-it.com.au

I'd like to add a couple of others that I've found useful:
bicycles.net.au
bikebus.org.au
bikely.com/listpaths/srchkey/sydney

Eazyride Bikes Ruled Illegal

2008-06-16T08:49:00.004+10:00

When is a bike not a bike? When it's electric
Well, actually, a bike can still be a bicycle if it fulfills 2 requirements:
1/ the electric motor has a maximum power output of 200watts
2/ the main drive propulsion is through pedalling NOT through the motor
The problem with the Eazyride bike is that you don't have to pedal, the primary drive propulsion is the electric motor. And the Supreme Court has made its decision based on this:

In May last year, Deborah Alice Matheson was riding her Eazyride bike on a street in Nyngan at about 30 kilometres an hour, using its motor, when she was stopped by police. She told them the RTA had told her that the bike did not need to be registered, but she was charged with driving an unregistered vehicle. She was convicted at Nyngan local court this year and fined $500.

Last Thursday week, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, without recording a conviction. Justice Peter Johnson found the magistrate who found Ms Matheson guilty had not erred in ruling that the bike motor was not "auxiliary" but primary, and its pedal power was secondary.

Eazyride actually supply other electric vehicles like golf carts and true electric bicycles and conversion kits as well, but in the Herald we read that

The director of the bicycle company Eazy Ride, Trevor Patrick, was dismayed by the Supreme Court's decision and has closed his business.

However, if you visit the website you will still find the following statements:

All electric bikes require no riders licence, registration, CTP, or petrol.

If you have bought an Eazyride bike then an RTA spokesperson has this advice for you:

We encourage anyone who has been sold a bike under false pretences to go to the Department of Fair Trading

Be aware that you can still ride your Eazyride bike in backyards and on private property, just like a Segways. These vehicles are only illegal in public spaces like roads, footpaths etc.

A Bridge Too Far?

2008-06-14T08:31:00.003+10:00

Tribunal poised to act on bike paths' missing link

After 19 years of pressure from cycling groups, the (Victorian) State Government is poised to override local opposition to a proposed 1.8-kilometre bike path connecting the Darebin Creek bike route with the Yarra River main trail.

Lobbyists predict that about 4000 cyclists a day would use the $4million path.

Opposition to the bike path has come from:

Alphington Grammar School (compulsory land acquisition)
Latrobe golf course (compulsory land acquisition, questions who would be liable in cases of injury)
Kew Local Residents (cyclists would damage parks, path would cut through a dog-walking area)
Friends of Willsmere Park and Kew Billabong (bridge over Yarra would hurt wildlife and ruin the billabong)

On the plus side for the bike path:

Students get a safer route to school
reduction in damage to native plant life caused by dog poo and random walkers
fewer native animals scared off by dogs
cycling in general is encouraged by completing the route

Maybe the golfers will have to take a bit more care when hitting their little balls to avoid hitting cyclists. The cyclists are already on the lookout for people wandering across their path.

Vote for Mahon Lal and Sydney's Car-Drivers

2008-06-13T07:37:00.005+10:00

I'd vote for Punjab Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal, who

chose to go to his office on a bicycle on Thursday to protest the rise in oil prices across the country

Minister goes to office on bicycle
I hope he continues to ride his bicycle to work!

Closer to home in Sydney, Chanel 7's Sunrise team have just finished a car vs bicycle commuter challenge. They took their sports commentator, Mark Beretta, who has just bought a bike and outfit, and pitted him against Grant Denyer ex-weather presenter and car racer in a car. Starting at about 7am, the route took them over Iron Cove Bridge, ANZAC Bridge, Pyrmont Bridge, up King Street and on to the studio in Martin Place, Sydney CBD. The challenge took about 20 minutes, and the car beat the bike by about 3 minutes.

Baretta's comments after the challenge were excellent as he described drivers being courteous to him on the road. This, I think, is the most important message to come out of the challenge, Sydney roads are not dangerous to ride on and there are many, many, courteous, considerate car-drivers. He even said that he would try commuting by bike .... in summer .... when the weather warms up.

Bicycle NSW CEO Alex Unwin (who accompanied Mark Baretta on his bicycle) also added some very good comments, reinforcing the message that the "road is there to share" and that bicycles and motorists can share the same roads if they respect and understand each other.

Shame Melbourne, Shame

2008-06-11T14:44:00.004+10:00

Sydney may be streets ahead of Melbourne in the list of the World's Top Cities but it is Melbourne that is being cited as an international leader in the provision of bicycle infrastructure.
How disappointing (embarrassing?) it must be for Melbourne Council to have announced it will NOT be funding any new bicycle projects for a year. Bikes 'sacrificed' for new footbridge.

Cycling Bad - Dogs Good?

2008-06-10T08:51:00.003+10:00

When is cycling bad for the environment?
When you are trying to build a bike path through a park with a billabong in Melbourne. Even though the area appears to be used by locals to walk their dogs.
John Hirst's opinion piece in The Age today is well worth a read.
Park or bicycle track? Environmentalists go into battle

Another Cycling Rant

2008-06-09T08:37:00.003+10:00

Chris Rissell, Clinical Associate Professor, long-term cycling advocate, and contributor to the "Cycling: Getting Australia Moving Report" (3.12MB), has a bit more to say about the benefits of cycling as transport on onlineopinion.com.au. Some of the comments being made are quite interesting.

Now, for my 2cents worth ......
The old, tired arguments of environment and health benefits of cycling do not make people suddenly think "oh my god, I'll ditch the car and ride a bike". They do add to the general background notion that cycling is a good thing.
Providing bike paths and lanes does not instantly persuade people to ride bikes on them, but they do raise (slightly?) awareness of cycling.
Similarly, the issues surrounding education and urban design add to the general background noise that cycling is a good thing.

I don't believe that we have actually hit the correct buttons yet, the factor that will act like a bolt out of the sky to make people suddenly, and in great numbers, think "WOW! I should try cycling to work!".

In order to determine what that factor is, we need to examine the real reasons for why people are reluctant to cycle for transport. The reasons, mind you, NOT the excuses! Too far, too hot, too cold, too dangerous, are all excuses.
What is it in the psyche of people who drive less than 5km that makes them want to drive instead of cycle? Or in the case of car trips less than 3km, why don't they walk?
Why are the same people prepared to whine about the high price of fuel, rising costs of living, the unreliability or insufficiency of public transport, but not prepared to take up the much lower cost, more convenient option of cycling?

Only when we are in a position to understand and appreciate the answers to these questions can we begin to know the real reasons behind people's transport choices and then we can start structuring the arguments to entice more people to cycle.

So, why isn't this being done? My guess is that most reports are funded/undertaken by health or environment organizations, so it's no surprise that health and environment are the issues raised. And, while the information they provide is essential and good, they will never get at the all important "triggers" or "key factors" to encourage more people to cycle.

Well, what do I think should be done then? Easy! Fund a different kind of research. Firstly I would suggest someone out there doing Honours in Psychology might find an interesting niche for their Ph.D. in getting at the real reasons for why people make the transport choices they do.
Second, a marketing student might follow up with a lovely Ph.D. on how to market cycling as transport to those who drive.
I strongly suspect there might be more areas for investigation as well, after the psychologists do their thing, eg, engineers designing more attractive, more versatile, easier-to-use bicycles, fashion designers taking a re-newed look at helmet and clothing design, hair-dressers thinking about the helmet-hair issue, cosmetics companies hooking onto the looking good while while cycling thing, etc.

Finally ... the "environment" doesn't cycle, "health" doesn't cycle, a PERSON cycles. If you want more people to cycle, you must first understand the psyche of groups of people. (Think Virgin, Nike, McDonalds, Apple,etc)

Cyclists Do Pay Their Own Way!

2008-06-05T07:53:00.004+10:00

If you, like me, turned up on your bicycle for the free commuter breakfast this morning, you would have been disappointed by the sign saying that it has been rescheduled to Thursday, 12^th June. Fair weather cyclists?

On a much more important note, the Cycling: Getting Australia Moving Report (3.12MB) has been released.

Now the report doesn't say anything new, but it has attempted to place a monetary value on the benefits of cycling which is extremely important when trying to get Governments to fork out the dollars to support cycling.

Cyclists currently save the economy $63.9million per year in reduced congestion costs and $72.1million in reduced health costs.
... the economic benefit of commuter cycling is $144.3million per year.

Now, compare that saving to the $75 million the Federal Government has budgeted for studies into urban congestion (to be matched by $57.5 million from the states). A total of $132.5million !!!! (Federal Budget 2008-09 analysis: A local government perspective)

Commuting cyclists save the economy $144.3million, Federal & State Governments will spend $132.5million to find out the best way of reducing traffic congestion is to encourage more people to cycle and catch public transport, which leaves a grand total of $11.8million to actually do something useful ! In practical terms, this covers about 80% of the cost of the NSW RTA delivering its proposed 134 kilometres of cycleways in 2007/8 – 80 kilometres of on-road and 54 kilometres of off-road cycleway. (Improving the NSW bike network

Now who said cyclists don't pay their own way?

City Commuter Cycling on the Rise!

2008-06-04T14:32:00.005+10:00

Cycling makes the front page of the Inner West Courier!

And why? Because there has been a substantial number of commuters getting out of their cars and onto their bicycles!

The Inner West Courier provides the following bicycle commuter increases for Sydney's Inner West since 2001:
Burwood Council: 42% increase
Marrickville Council: 23% increase
Canada Bay Council: 17%
Ashfield Council: 14%
Leichhardt Council: 9%

Tomorrow, Thursday 5^th June is World Environment Day.
If you are cycling into the city of Sydney tomorrow you might want to plan your ride to take advantage of the free bicycle commuter breakfasts.

Cyclists will be the toast of the town as City of Sydney marks World Environment Day, Thursday 5 June, with free breakfasts for bike commuters across the City.

"We are proud of our bike riders for choosing a green and healthy form of transport," said Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP. "Our Sustainable Sydney 2030 vision commits the City to providing high quality bicycle route options for residents and visitors."

To help celebrate World Environment Day, the City's three breakfast sites will operate from 7.30 am to 9 am, serving coffee, tea and pastries and handing out free cycling accessories. Bike riders are encouraged to drop by either:

* Union Square, Pyrmont
* Observatory Hill
* Hyde Park South

Safe Turning Indicator gets People's Choice Award

2008-06-01T13:01:00.004+10:00

A week ago pedaller asked you to vote for the "Safe Turning Indicator" on the New Inventors website. And you did!

The "Safe Turning Indicator" was the invention judged best on that episode by the judging panel, and now it has also won the "people's choice award".

Hooray for people power!

People power also seems to be winning the "bikes on the road" argument over on 2GB's website.
41% cyclists say bikes on roads are great
39% bikes on roads are annoying
20% non-cyclists supporting rights of cyclists

Now, if only we could get 41% of the population to ride bikes ..... that really would be something!

Pro-bicycle Majority on 2GB's Poll

2008-05-31T10:04:00.003+10:00

The current 2GB "What do you think about bicycles on our roads? "poll at 10am today stands at:
40% bikes are annoying and get in my way.
41% I'm a cyclist. Bikes are great.
20% I'm not a cyclist but respect the rights of people who cycle.

We now have an "election winning" pro cycling majority. But I'm still concerned that only half of the non-cycling public supports the rights of cyclists to use our roads.
Do you know non-cyclists who support our right to use our roads?
Why not ask them to cast their votes at 2GB's website?

Airlines Boss to Fix Melbourne's Land Transport Problems?

2008-05-30T07:45:00.003+10:00

Melbourne is on the move with its vision for 2030

The road network will be essential for our cars, trucks, trams, buses, motorbikes and bicycles.

Because (Sir) Rod Eddington believes that

car travel will increase over the coming decades. Even as rising petrol prices lead to more people shifting to public transport, population growth alone will result in growing car travel. People will also continue to find cars more convenient for making an increasing number and variety of trips that extend well beyond getting to work in the morning. In the years ahead, we'll be driving smaller and more efficient cars that may be fuelled by something other than petrol. But by 2031, while about 1.5 million trips will be made by public transport each day in Melbourne, almost ten times as many trips (14 million) will still be made by motor vehicles.

Perhaps Rod Eddington should come to Sydney and see the impact petrol prices are currently having on mass transit (not limited to public transport).
Petrol crisis fuels bus, train crush

But why should we listen to Rod Eddington anyway? Is it because he has recently been appointed as the inaugural chair of Infrastructure Australia?
What are his credentials for this post?
1992 - Managing Director of Cathay Pacific
1997 - Chairman of Ansett (News Ltd sold off Ansett in 1999 just before it went bust)
2000 - CEO British Airways (financial losses blamed on 9/11 attacks)
2005 - Head of the Victorian Major Events Association (after Steve Vizard's departure)
2006 - non-executive director Rio Tinto Group

Ah ... well .... it's fairly obvious that a man who has spent a decade in the airline industry would be in a superb position to provide expert reports into land-based transport systems, not to mention his connection to the mining industry which will, ofcourse, in no way profit from an expansion of the roads network.

Vote for Cycling

2008-05-28T13:03:00.003+10:00

2GB has started a poll asking people if they think cyclists should be allowed on the road. It's time to vote folks!
Bicycles on our roads - What do you think?

At 1pm today the results were:
52% said bikes are annoying and get in the way of drivers
26% said they used bikes
22% said they don't ride but respect the rights of others to ride

I wonder what would happen if someone suggested that private cars shouldn't be allowed on our roads? After all, cars are a major health hazard, directly injuring and killings thousands of people every year! Not to mention that more bicycles than cars are sold annually in this country.

Cars are for Crims

2008-05-27T11:29:00.003+10:00

While Australians continue to whine about increasing petrol prices and demand that "the government" do something.......

In America it seems that the Police are having a tough time keeping their patrol cars on the road owing to high fuel prices. Their solution is not to demand that "the government" do something, instead Police Departments are encouraging their staff to walk or use bicycles. It seems there is a re-newed enthusiasm for the bike patrol!
Tired of pricey gas, police pump up bike patrols

This prompts me to ask if, in the not too-distant future, the only people able to afford petrol will be criminals?
So, if you drive a Holden .... you're holdin' onto someone elses money?
If you drive a Ford it's because .... only crims can af-ford to?
Mitsubishi? Mitts-on-da-cashy?
Mercedes? Murky dealings?
BMW .... well, I'm not going to touch that one, you know what I mean!

Brisbane Cycle Station to Open in June

2008-05-26T07:52:00.008+10:00

Brisbane is the first Australian city to introduce a "Chicago" style Cycle Center with its Cycle2Work facility in the King George Square bus station.

Taxpayers handed over $6.4 million for the facility, a joint Brisbane City Council and State Government venture, which is due to open on June 2.

For an undisclosed joining fee + $5 a day you will be able to park your bike and have a shower. $5 is equivalent to a two-zone bus fare in Brisbane.
Compare that to the Chicago model where you can park your bike for free, but have to pay a membership fee to use the shower facilities. (Monthly pass: $US20, Annual pass: $US149, Registration Fee: $US20).

While this is a great idea and I hope that the people of Brisbane support it, I suspect they may need to revise the fee structures. I could lock up my bike on the street for free and join a city gym to gain access to showers for less than the weekly cost of using this facility.

When the City of Sydney first offered secure bike parking in Goulburn Street Car Park at a cost of $2 per day most cyclists commented that they would rather keep their money. Now I know the positioning of this car park is not so good but I wonder what sort of occupancy rates these areas are running at?

How Tokyo solves the problem of bike storage for about $1 a day.

Melbourne City Council is trialling "bike pods" as the solution to bicycle storage and showering.
Parking Pods Boost for Riders.

Apart from being hideously ugly, who is going to keep them clean I wonder?

Duffy's Down on Bicycles Again

2008-05-24T08:55:00.003+10:00

You may remember Michael Duffy's controversial story back in 2005:
Off yer bike - for the sake of all of us on the roads

Bikes are dangerous to ride and slow traffic, which creates more pollution. For the good of all of us, we need to ban the bike.

Well he is back with this story in today's Sydney Morning Herald.

The average car needs to travel at between 55 kmh and 90 kmh to achieve the minimum possible air pollution.

I know some cyclists go at 55 kmh, but most don't. These two certainly weren't. They were slowing down the traffic, forcing thousands of cars to emit more greenhouse gases than they would have otherwise.

And I know every cyclist can immediately see the fallacy of the argument. If more people were on bicycles there would be less pollution of all types, not just greenhouse gas emissions.

I wonder if a similar argument used to lobby for an increase in city speed limits back to a minimum of 60km/h, even in school zones, would find wide-spread support in the community? Or what about if the argument were used to lower speed limits on highways and motorways to 90km/h, would this receive similar widespread support?

Ofcourse if you read the whole story you will find that the whole point is to convince us that nuclear energy is the only clean energy source we should be contemplating. Hold onto your sanity and don't bother reading the story.

Safe Turn Bicycle Indicators

2008-05-22T07:54:00.004+10:00

Just in case you missed the New Inventors on the ABC last night, Safe Turning Indicators for bicycle riders was judged to be the best of the 3 inventions shown last night. Now you can pop over to the website to vote for these for the "people's choice" award for next week as well.
Safe Turning Indicator

Now, I know these are not exactly new, I think I've seen a certain BikeSaint riding along with these attached to the wrists, but if you'd like more information you can visit this inventor's website:
www.safeturn.com
RRP $19.95 each and if you order before May 25^th shipping is free as part of the New Inventors promotional offer.

Support Cyclists

2008-05-20T08:03:00.003+10:00

Some support for cyclists from a non-cyclist in the Herald today
The fit and sweaty are people, too

And bicycle sharing schemes from Japan - without JC Decaux or Adshel!

Brisbane Bike Hire Scheme

2008-05-19T10:59:00.002+10:00

The Australian reports that Brisbane will be the first Australian city to adopt a JC DeCaux style bike hire scheme (velib).

They may be jumping the gun a bit as,

Brisbane City Council will accept proposals until June 30, with the intention of awarding the contract later this year. The council is aiming to have the program up and running by the middle of next year.

Along with a couple of quotes from potential would-be users, there is this gem,

"If it works overseas, I don't see why it wouldn't work here."

Well, let's think about the differences between Paris and Brisbane to start with, eg, Paris already has a commuter-type cycling community, respect for the sport of cycling, a well-developed mass transit system, oh, and yes ..... bicycle helmets are not compulsory. Just to name a few!

And, if you are looking for the tender documents, don't bother visiting the Counci's website as there is a

System outage - Monday, 19 May to Tuesday, 27 May 2008

Cyclist Makes Own Hell

2008-05-16T10:00:00.003+10:00

A city that's hell on two wheels
In brief, a desciption of a commuting cyclist who gets knocked off bike by a car and is angry at the whole world.

BUT, what sort of cyclist writes this tripe?

I should not have been on that road.

Why not? Does this cyclist believe that cyclists do not have the right to be on the road?

There is no safe way for cyclists to get through the city.

This can be true if cyclists are not taking basic precautions, ie, ride in the centre of the lane, signal before turning or changing lanes, riding in a predictable fashion , and being alert to what is going on around them.

We need bike routes through the city.

And what happens when the "bike routes" don't take you where you want to go? Will you get off your bike and walk? Or will you be back where you started, in the traffic and needing to take all the basic precautions outlined above?

Or, god forbid, you will actually behave the way you indicated in your letter,

... there is nothing to do but act like a bike courier and squeeze though traffic in the left lane, keeping right enough to avoid opening doors from parked cars and left enough to avoid holding up traffic.

Cyclists are not "holding up traffic". Cyclists ARE traffic!!!!!

Bikes, Bikes & Bosca

2008-05-15T08:31:00.003+10:00

In Sydney, City Bike Depot is having a sale between 6pm Monday 26^th to Saturday 31^st May.

In Melbourne Supercheap Auto is buying out Victorian Goldcross Cycles, including a half stake in Australian Bicycles, with an option to purchase the remainder of the company later.

It plans to replicate its big box "category killer" formula in the bicycle market, with stores in shopping centres zoned for bulky goods or those with large floor areas.

(SMH)

John Della Bosca, NSW Minister of Education, Industrial Relations, and as Minister Assisting Minister for Finance he represents the Motor Accidents Authority, has lost his drivers licence after being "awarded" 7 speeding fines, and is now riding a mountain bike between Leichhhardt and Parliament.
Daily Telegraph

So should John Della Bosca remain in his Motor Accidents Authority role? John seems to think he should,

[The speeding offences] doesn't affect his ability to administer a scheme in which premiums have reduced by $200 over the past few years. NSW has the best performing green slip scheme in the nation, with an expanding range of benefits.

(SMH)

Isn't it comforting to think that we have an organisation named "Motor Accidents Authority" whose role is to ensure low insurance premiums for people involved in accidents but has no role to play in trying to prevent the accidents happening in the first place?

Ride of Silence

2008-05-13T06:20:00.004+10:00

In light of recent events, it is probably a good time to start promoting the Ride of Silence, an apolitical, peaceful, memorial ride to honour those who have been killed or injured while cycling.

Date: Saturday 24^th May 2008

Meeting Places:

Adelaide: Victoria Square
Canberra: 9am Regatta Place
Melbourne: 10am Federation Square
Sydney: 10am Archibald Fountain Hyde Park

Flyers to download and display: http://mynrca.com.au/ros_leaflet.pdf

Ride of Silence information and locations: www.rideofsilence.org

More Crash

2008-05-12T14:14:00.003+10:00

Page 7 of the Daily Telegraph today "Cycle road rage driver in hiding".
It appears Police are trying to serve "Jason" a summons .... but no-one is at home (in more ways than one possibly?). According to the Tele this is a holding charge for the "single offence of failing to supply particulars to police".
So it seems it's OK for motorists to use their machines to attempt to kill cyclists on the road, as long as you cause the cyclists to run into the back of the car.

And there are a couple of paragraphs on a female cyclist doored on Pittwater Rd at North Narrabeen by a male in a blue Ford ute on Saturday. I'm sure no action will be brought against this driver either, afterall, the cyclist ran into the car door so it won't be the fault of the driver.

And if you turn to page 19 there are a couple of letter writers with a couple of gripes. The first considers cyclists arrogant and urges us to "share and be fair", the second reminds us it is illegal for cyclists to use footpaths unless they are under 12 years old (or accompanying someone who is under 12).

And to this I'd like to add that I'm happy to "share and be fair" .... as long as it doesn't endanger my life or the lives of other people, a point that motorists seem to not understand. As for riding on footpaths, yes it is illegal, and I agree that most Sydney city footpaths are unsuitable for cyclists, but some are part of our cycling network (I use the term loosely) and are not necessarily sign-posted as such.

Ban Ryan Bailey from Cycling!

2008-05-10T09:30:00.006+10:00

We, as cyclists, expect motorists to sometimes get abusive if we are a bit slow and the driver is finding it all a bit too inconvenient.

What we don't expect is a dedicated cyclist to publicly state his frustration as a car driver at slower moving vehicles. And yet, Ryan Bailey, an Australian Olympic Cyclist, has done just that, and the timing of the article could not have been worse!

What's your pet road peeve?
.... people driving at 20 kays under the speed limit. I had a Volvo driver doing that to me yesterday and it wasn't much fun."

(SMH)

I think Ryan Bailey should be banned from cycling on the road until he can maintain the speed limit on every road he rides on and should be compelled to attend a driver education session or two!

On the other hand, Green's MP Lee Rhiannon, seems to have the right idea:

"In response to the major cycling accident yesterday, Eric Roozendaal
should be confirming the right of cyclists to share Sydney's roads and
warning motorists against taking their road rage out on cyclists.

"Banishing cyclists from Sydney roads might make the Roads Minister's
job easier, but it will do nothing to combat climate change, peak oil
and rising petrol prices or obesity,"

The National Roads & Cyclists Association Mr. Odds, has taken the NRMA to task over its mixed messages in the media,

'... he found it quite distasteful that Mr Evans (NRMA) would use what appeared to be a deliberate and malicious road-rage incident on the part of a rogue driver as a platform to push the onus of care onto cylcists. "Evans doesn't get it," said Mr Odds. "All road users have a duty of care to each other. Aren't we supposed to share the road? Is he saying that motorists are not responsible for anyone's safety other than their own? Are injured and killed cyclists nothing more than collateral damage on the way to work in the morning?"'

And, ofcourse we expected some positive words of wisdom from the Cycling Promotion Fund,

"The Cycling Promotion Fund calls on all commuters to share the road and see each other as people - not 'cyclists' or motorists."

So where is Bicycle NSW's media release? I've got no idea, but they do have a small statetment on their homepage at the moment,

"We are outraged by the events at Mascot yesterday, and we are deeply concerned for the athletes who have been affected by this appalling incident. We strongly support the efforts of law enforcement agencies to pursue and prosecute the offenders to the fullest extent of the law and we passionately believe that the road is there to share. We are upholding this principle in our dealings with Government."

Fine sentiments ofcourse, but where is the call to action on sharing the road amicably and safely?

Want to do something constructive?
Sign this petition

We, the undersigned, as members of the NRMA and/or customers of IAG insurance, will cancel or not renew our business with the NRMA or IAG if they continue to oppose cycling infrastructure.

Road Safety Logies for 2008

2008-05-09T09:29:00.005+10:00

The 2008 Road Safety Logies are brought to you by the Daily Telegraph

The prize for the understatement of the year goes to NRMA's senior adviser on road safety, Anne Morphett:

"Australian drivers were not good at sharing the road"

The prize for setting the record straight goes to NSW Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal:

"they (cyclists) have every legal right to be on the roads ... there's no excuse for road rage"

The prize for sending mixed messages to the motoring and cycling public, this year is to be shared by .....

Anne Morphett:

"If you break up large packs it would give an opportunity for cyclists to still continue with their training but it would give motorists an opportunity to pass them safely"

Translation: large packs of cyclists force motorists to break the law regarding safe overtaking, so by breaking up large packs into smaller packs you give the motorists a far better chance of killing some of those pesky cyclists as they try to force their cars in between the packs.

and Eric Roozendaal:

"while cycling packs had every right to use the road, they should try to avoid peak-hour traffic"

Translation: while cyclists unfortunately have every right to be on the road, we really don't want them there, so motorists should continue the good work by hitting as many as possible in peak hour.

2GB has a recording of "Jason" the car driver giving his version of events, predictably he is not too blame ... the cyclists ran into the back of him ofcourse, and he was too scared of the cyclists (still standing) to stay at the scene of the crime. So, as there is no real damage to his car, he can't see what all the fuss is about.

Sydney Cyclists Crash

2008-05-08T09:42:00.007+10:00

Aussie cyclists mowed down in hit-and-run

Witnesses to the crash have told smh.com.au the group of about 50 professional cyclists were riding south on Southern Cross Drive, just south of Dacey Avenue, Mascot about 6.30am when a driver, agigtated with being held up, accelerated in front of the pack and then slammed on his brakes.

"The driver's come up close behind them and was worrying the rear of the pack and then [the driver has] gone past and got in front and slammed his brakes on," one of cyclist in the pack said.

Now, you'd think that the journalist would then go on to discussing the motorist's appalling behaviour wouldn't you? A discussion of road rules and road safety? Perhaps a nice, warm & fluffy, "share the road" type of message maybe?

Well, you'd be wrong!

The whole emphasis of the story is on some of the cyclists involved, Nichols & Kersten, in particular. The implication seems to be that the cause of the crash was not motorist behaviour, but rather, because Nichols is somehow jinxed and Kersten is a "dirty rider".

Another lost opportunity for promoting road safety, proudly brought to you by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Let's see what the Telegraph can do with this story .... when they finally catch up that is ..... Cycle stars in road rage hit-run
More interesting are the comments being left by Tele readers, ie, how sad but cyclists bring this on themselves by riding on the road.

SMH Update: 10:45am
A re-write of the Herald story is starting to look a bit better than the original.

Police - including an off-duty officer who witnessed the crash - quickly closed the lane down while they investigated the incident.

It is understood they know who the driver of the car is, and are attempting to contact him now.

It is expected he will be charged, including with failing to stop at the scene of an accident and negligent or dangerous driving.

SMH Update 11am
Lovely section added to the story describing the jeers of passing motorists. I wonder if they were the same people who have been adding comments to the Telegraph's story?

Walker & Cycling

2008-05-08T08:47:00.002+10:00

Petrol prices are up again. The Government's Petrol Price Commissioner Pat Walker (such an inappropriate surname given his role!) found that Coles Express set the highest prices across four capital cities.

So, what's his solution?

"Mr Walker urged motorists to take advantage of the weekly price cycle in Sydney, in which prices are lowest on Wednesday morning and highest on Wednesday night or Thursday morning."

(Sydney Morning Herald)

Is there a better solution?
Ofcourse there is!
Stop using the car so much!
Why not take advantage of a cycle that differs from a price cycle. This alternative cycle involves 2 or 3 wheels, a set of cranks and pedals, and is human powered.
Or take up walking. (Pat Walker could then live up to his name.)

But if petrol prices won't get people out of their cars, neither will concern for the environment......

"Australians see climate change as the nation's biggest problem but appear unwilling to change their lives to reduce their large environmental footprint, an international survey has found."

(Sydney Morning Herald)

So we will continue on our merry way, whinging about the the price of petrol, demanding more roads are built, shaking our heads in dismay at the state of our environment, being concerned about the nation's health, getting frustrated with traffic jams, without even once considering that somehow all of these things are linked and that we, as individuals, are to blame.

Sometimes Less is More

2008-05-07T07:23:00.003+10:00

Bus lanes spark unholy row

Is the Sydney CBD about to lose 50% of its bike lanes?

The bike lanes on Park Street will be removed to make way for the new bus lanes. The bike lanes were built as a condition of consent for the construction of the Cross City Tunnel.

Or are we about to make incredible gains in the bicycle lane network by adding more bus lanes?

A new northbound lane on George Street between Campbell and Liverpool streets. It will be one lane out from the kerb, so parking spots will be retained.
Northbound and southbound lanes on Elizabeth Street, between Foveaux and Liverpool streets.
Northbound and southbound lanes on Elizabeth Street, between Market and Bridge streets.
Two 24-hour lanes on Park Street. The eastbound lane will run between George and Elizabeth streets and the westbound lane will run between College and George streets.

The proposed new lanes will be for buses, taxis, bikes and "authorised vehicles" to ensure easy transport for pilgrims.

Easy transport for pilgrims? Wouldn't it be far better to encourage them to walk around the city? How about we start by widening the footpaths and introducing "all walk" traffic signals for pedestrians. After all, with the increasing number of buses that demand you buy a ticket before you get on the bus, the poor pilgrims will have to walk around the city a few times before they figure out where to get a ticket!

New Bike Path a Reward for Bad Driver Behaviour

2007-12-17T11:13:00.000+11:00

Going green with a cycleway above the streets: a proposal for an elevated shared bicycle/pedestrian path from the North Sydney end of the Harbour Bridge to (possibly) Falcon Street.

Well if it fixes the problem of getting my bike up and down all those damn stairs on the so-called bike path it can't be all bad. (Given that I don't have any other way to legally cross the Harbour Bridge on my bike).

Except .... will it dump pedestrians onto the "bike only" bike path on the Harbour Bridge?

And, will it end up being just as ugly as the prison cage we have to cycle along on the Harbour Bridge?

'"Having a decent bicycle network in Sydney is a key part of sustainable transport," Cr McCaffery said. '

NEWSFLASH for Cr McCaffery: We already have a "bicycle network"! We have roads, bus lanes, nasty shared pedestrian/bike paths, and, nastier bike lanes.

So, this is what Cr McCaffery sees as the problem:

Cr McCaffery said people also often felt they were taking their lives in their hands because they had to ride close to cars.

And her supporting evidence:

Motorists either could not see them or had no respect for cyclists, she said.

So, her solution is not to address the real problem, ie, the behaviour of motorists, rather it is to reinforce this undesirable behaviour by building expensive infrastructure to separate bicycles from motorists.

By Cr McCaffery's logic, we should build separate lanes for drunk drivers, given that we can't stop them from boozing we should separate them from sober motorists. Similarly there should be separate lanes for motorists who speed, take drugs, are unlicensed or driving unroadworthy vehicles.

JCDecaux Advert in the Herald Today

2007-11-16T10:48:00.000+11:00

When is a "Letter to the Editor" in a newspaper really a free advertisement?
When it's for Velib (ie, the JCDecaux bike hire scheme).

Ever since the Velib public bicycle system began in Paris this year, more and more Parisians have been using bicycles to get around. People use Velib to and from work, to school and university, to the picnic in the park with their families, even home from a big night when they can't find a taxi. People use Velib up steep hills, across several suburbs and alongside busy roads. People use Velib with briefcases, in skirts and suits, and even in high heels. People used Velib earlier this year on humid, sunny mornings and are now rugging up to Velib in dark, icy evenings. People use Velib even though they can go anywhere by the frequent and efficient Paris Metro and bus systems. During the transport strikes people have walked to their nearest Velib rank and ridden to work.

Velibs are checked, maintained, replaced and the user pays. They can be picked up quickly, ridden from rank to rank and left for the next person. It's simple, efficient and good for you. Parisians who have never ridden bicycles are discovering this, taking up the Velib and getting to know the new routes.

I did wonder if Sall Forrest (Paris) worked for JCDecaux, but the googled name only came up in connection with a previous Letter to the Editor from Sall Forrest (Biggera Waters, Qld). So possibly this is just a misguided person who supports a "public bike hire" scheme without understanding that you can support such a scheme without supporting a particular supplier.
So.....
Dear Sall Forrest,
please refer to yesterday's post in order to find 3 examples of currently available bike hire in Sydney, all of which are publicly available.

No More Free JCDecaux Bike Hire for Sydney

2007-11-15T10:22:00.001+11:00

The JCDecaux publicity machine rolls on in relation to providing "free" bike hire in Sydney.

Opening attraction grabber,

YOU are stuck at Broadway and you need to be at a meeting at Circular Quay in 10 minutes. You hire a bike, hop on and drop it off at your destination.

What's wrong with this? Well, you just happen to be at Broadway with your Australian Standards approved bicycle helmet ..... so you hire a bike! Why the hell didn't you just ride a bike in the first place then?

80 per cent of inner city people supported such a scheme, and 71 per cent said an hourly fee of $3 or more was reasonable.

Well, if there is so much support for bike hire out there, why aren't people doing it?
Here are three easy to find, current bike hire operations that service the City of Sydney (apologies to those not cited here)
Cheapest Option: Inner City Cycles in Glebe
A decent offer: Centennial Park Cycles - who also offer a delivery service
Expensive tourist offer: Bonza Bike Hire based at Circular Quay

AND, what happened to the offer of "free" bicycle hire in the original media releases?

In Paris, 20,600 bikes are provided by the street furniture firm JCDecaux and there are 1451 hire stations.

There are less hire stations in Paris than there are NEW JCDecaux billboards!
What's wrong with an additional 2000 billboards? Take a look at the billboard on the corner of Sussex and King St, the billboard that has caused enough pedestrian/cyclist/motor vehicle accidents to warrant its removal, but has so far just resulted in its being moved a foot to the left!

I'm all for bike hire in the city. I think it's a great idea. BUT, I want to see a bike hire scheme in place that emphasises bike riding, not advertising space. It certainly hasn't escaped my attention that JCDecaux is a sponsor of this year's Bicycle Film Festival, and I'm sure they can be hit for even more sponsorship dollars to support cycling initiatives BEFORE they get to introduce a bike hire scheme, so I for one am hoping that Sydney Council takes a very long time to post its Invitation for Tender documents, and a very, very, long time in making any decision.

So here's an offer for any shop-keepers in Sydney.
pedapod will supply bikes and helmets for hire, you supply the space, we'll organise signage & PR, we'll arrange for maintenance and repairs, we'll split the hire fees with you. People can just walk into a shop, hire a bike and helmet, and return it to the shop closest to their destination. No additional billboards in Sydney, and bikes for hire that everyone can access!

When is a bike lane a truck lane?

2007-10-27T22:15:00.000+10:00

Cycle commuters a larger tiny minority

Census figures released yesterday show that the number of people who cycle to work has risen by 18 per cent.

Excellent news.

Bike lanes that expanded arterial roads had to be strong enough to carry trucks.

One hopes that this rather intriguing statement refers to the idea of bike lanes being used by motorised traffic as an emergency stopping area, and not, as is suggested, as a truck lane!

JCDecaux vs Adshel in Geneva

2007-10-25T08:08:00.000+10:00

Ad dispute delays bicycle plan
At last! Major companies will go head-to-head in Geneva, not over the rights to provide "free" bicycles in the city, but over the exclusive advertising rights associated with this.

A plan to launch a free bicycle system in Geneva has been held up by a dispute over advertising. Vélib’ in Paris offers thousands of bikes to users at hundreds of hire points through a program financed by a private company in return for a share of revenue from advertising billboards, signs and other formats throughout the city. Geneva wants to follow this model, offering a monopoly on advertising in the city in return for the provision of 500 bikes available at 40 “stations” and a payment of more than SFr1 million.

SFr1 million ~ $945,000 AUD

SGA, a company with links to the French firm JC Decaux, currently has an exclusive contract to provide advertising in Geneva. (JC Decaux currently finances the Vélib’ system in Paris). But Clear Channel, a media conglomerate based in the US that is competing with SGA for the future advertising rights, has launched legal action against the city saying its requirements are anti-competitive. A lawyer for the company said the city’s requirements to provide bikes and a large grant are “exorbitant” and favor SGA.

JCDecaux sells advertising on bus shelters and billboards.
Clear Channel owns 49% of Adshel, JCDecaux's main competitor in Australia.

It certainly is 'exhorbitant' and most definitely anti-competitive, precluding almost any local bicycle-related business from providing the service, and a bicycle-related business would be bound to deliver a much better service than an advertising company!

The word I would use to describe this sort of business behaviour is extortionist rather than exhorbitant!

The city’s contract with SGA expires at the end of the year. The dispute with Clear Channel likely means this contract will be extended in the short-term and that a new long-term agreement is not seen until 2009. All this means that Geneva’s Vélib’ system will likely not be introduced until 2010 at the earliest.

I notice the implicit belief that the outcome if this dispute is a forgone conclusion, JCDeaux wins the contract.
See 'extortion' above!

Netti Factory Sale

2007-10-24T07:33:00.000+10:00

Save on cycling gear at the Netti Factory Sale.
Unit 39, 1A Coulson St
Erskineville
NSW

Friday 26^th October: 4pm to 7pm (Bicycle NSW members & Sydney to Gong entrants only)
Saturday 27^th October: 10am to 3pm (open to all)
Sunday 28^th October: 10am to 1pm (open to all)

Fashionable Cycling

2007-10-23T08:21:00.000+10:00

Bicycles are Chanel's new fashion accessory for 2008.

At last we have a move that just might appeal to those well-heeled female city commuters. There's no point in buying your new fashion accessory unless you can show it off now is there? Especially when it will set you back about $10,000 AUD.
Hopefully Chanel will also put some thought into bicycle commuter clothing next. For Australia, a designer who can come up with an acceptable, fashionable helmet design would be a big plus.

Loony Letter in the Herald

2007-10-22T15:10:00.000+10:00

I guess the loony letter writers must be out in force as a consequence of National Ride to Work Day followed by the Sydney Spring Cycle.
If you really feel the need to feed this person's ego, go ahead and read the letter.
For cyclists, our roads are just a fast track to an early grave
My guess is this person has never ridden a bicycle along the Cooks River shared cyclepath, as it could hardly be considered "excellent".
One point, with repsect to bike lanes, I do agree with, "Squeezing bicycle traffic between the opening doors of parked cars and road traffic makes cycling hazardous for all involved."
Given that many more motorists die in any given year on our roads than cyclists, and given that the number of cyclist deaths has remained static while the number of cyclists has more than doubled, it seems he should be far more concerned about driving the car!
"For motorists our roads are just a fast track to an early grave."

National Ride 2 Work Roundup

2007-10-18T09:53:00.000+10:00

NSW
10,000 Sydneysiders cycle in to work
"Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore, state MPs, media personalities and police officers joined about 700 cyclists at a Ride to Work Day breakfast in the city."

Tasmania
Workers discover pedal power.
"In Hobart yesterday about 300 cyclists turned out for a free breakfast in Mawson Place. Others joined in workplace celebrations and a Rider-Reviver station set up by Glenorchy City Council.

Cycle South's Mary McParland said a quarter of the people at yesterday's event were commuting for the first time."

Victoria
Lycra brigade descends on city
"More than 6000 people took advantage of a free breakfast at Federation Square this morning to fill their stomachs after this year's Ride to Work Day.
...'About one-third of the people involved in this event are riding in [to work] for the first time,' said Mr Barber."

Ride 2 Work Day in Sydney

2007-10-17T09:50:00.000+10:00

Some photos from the Lend Lease ride 2 work breakfast at The Bond, Hickson Rd, Sydney.

In my rough estimation, based on the number of parked bicycles, there must have been atleast twice as many bicycle commuters in attendance this year compared to last year.
And, just as important, this year Sydney Mayor Clover Moore, and State Parliamentarian Verity Firth, both rode their bicycles in, and both commented on their newly gained perspective of cycling conditions in Sydney.
Thank God for the ABC's Adam Spencer who is not just a great cycling advocate, but manages to inject some humour into the speeches.

Direct Marketing - Direct Environmental Disaster

2007-10-12T13:10:00.000+10:00

Ever wondered what happens to all those catalogues you don't get in your mail box?

Here's a hint!
Warning Some people may find these images distressing.

Register for National Ride 2 Work Day

2007-10-12T12:33:00.000+10:00

Have you registered to participate in National Ride 2 Work Day, Wednesday 17^th October 2007?
Follow this link to register now. People from all over Australia can register, not just Victorians :)
Follow this link to find out if there is a breakfast event being hosted near you.

Cars Reign Supreme in Sydney

2007-10-10T08:25:00.000+10:00

The Sydney Morning Herald tells us there are 10 things we can do to reduce our impact on the environment. The last suggestion on the list is that you leave the car at home and walk or cycle to work.

In the same newspaper, on the same day, is the reason for why people choose to drive,

'IT IS no longer just a question of unreliability or poor public transport links - Sydney commuters are driving to work simply because they can.
...."While some of the reasons for not using public transport are valid, it appears the car culture still reigns supreme, with nearly 29 per cent of Sydney residents using their cars out of sheer preference alone," an AAMI spokeswoman, Selina O'Connor, said'

Which ofcourse means that no improvements to public transport will encourage these people to leave the car at home. No amount of public education about the damage these people are doing to the environment will shame them into deserting their cars.

Why should we pander to these people by building more roads? This only encourages more people to use their cars. I'll vote for any politician who states categorically that they will NOT spend any more public money on funding new roads.

One Less Excuse

2007-10-08T09:42:00.000+10:00

The Sydney Morning Herald today has some interesting stats on cycling.

50% increase in number of cyclists in the past 3 years
~3000 cyclists ride into the City of Sydney daily
300% increase in enrolments for National Ride to Work Day on October 17

0% increase in number of cyclist deaths and injuries in the past 10 years
1997: 7 cyclists killed, 603 injured
2006: 3 cyclists killed, 672 injured

50% car trips in Sydney are under five kilometres

So, how valid is the perception that cycling is dangerous? Well, if the number of cyclists increases and the death/injury rate doesn't rise, that seems to suggest that cycling is not more dangerous if there are more cyclists. If a large proportion of those deaths/injuries were as a result of being hit by a car, surely this would suggest that more cyclists and fewer cars would further reduce the death/injury toll on our roads? So if the "Government" and its agencies are really interested in reducing the death toll on our roads, they should be actively encouraging people to cycle and actively discouraging people to drive.

6,000 more Melbourne Commuting Cyclists

2007-10-07T10:19:00.000+10:00

Good news from the last census reported in The Age

But Dr Mees said the increase in cycling to work had come almost exclusively from "middle-class inner-urbanites".

Great news for the image of commuting cyclists .... if you cycle you are not a member of the poor working class, rather you are a sexy, trendsetting, inner-urbanite! You are not someone to pity, you are someone to be admired and aspire to being.

"Whether middle-class inner-urbanites are swapping one non-car mode of travel for another is not terribly relevant to the goal we set for our transport policies in (planning blueprint) Melbourne 2030: getting cars off the road," Dr Mees said.

But it is terribly relevant Dr Mees! Encourage more people off crowded trams onto bicycles and you make more room for other people to use trams, maybe increasing their satisfaction with that mode of travel so they will leave the car at home.
Seeing more people riding bikes to work will encourage other people to give it a try, and some of those will also leave the car at home in future.

Feeling inspired to ride to work? Why not join a bike bus and enjoy the social, as well as the environmental and health benefits of riding a bicycle?

Bicycle Coalition

2007-09-14T07:20:00.000+10:00

Bicycle Victoria, Bicycle NSW, Bicycle Queensland and Bicycle South Australia have formed the Bicycle Coalition ahead of the federal election. You can read comments from Harry Barber, Bicycle Victoria's CEO, in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Bicycle NSW, Bicycle Queensland and Bicycle SA have no information about this on their websites, but Bicycle Victoria does.
Charter of the Bicycle Coalition
"The Coalition will:

* Establish and extend a base of agreement about bike riding issues
* Present common positions to government, community and business.
* Develop shared intellectual property
* Develop shared ventures and initiatives"

This is a great idea and a very positive step forward, but only if it is an equal partnership of all the State bodies. It certainly seems to be just an extension of Bicycle Victoria at the moment. Given that both SA and Queensland have some great cycling initiatives in place, it would be nice to see those tabled rather than just more of the same "more bike lanes, more shared paths" from Bicycle Victoria and Bicycle NSW.

Adelaide's Mayoral Bicycles

2007-09-10T08:37:00.000+10:00

Adelaide Lord Mayor Michael Harbison is under fire for chaining 10 bicycles bearing campaign messages to poles around Adelaide. (Adelaide Now)

So, what is the problem?

Are cyclists complaining because the campaign bikes are taking up parking space? Apparently not.

The first problem seems to be about the timing as regards to when you can start using Council property.

The other issue is about blatant advertising in a city with the toughest advertising regulations in the country.
"...it was cheeky to leave the bike there when traders were under stricter controls about how they could use advertising."
There seems to be one set of rules for the rulers and a different set for the ruled.

I wonder if the Mayor actually rides a bike?

Update "LORD Mayor Michael Harbison has been asked to remove his "Harbo for Mayor" bikes from the city."
(Lord Mayor's bikes go)

Cycling to Ease Traffic Congestion in New York

2007-09-05T08:45:00.000+10:00

While Paul Pottinger may regard cyclists as creating Sydney traffic hell, in New York Janette Sadik-Khan, the commissioner of the Department of Transportation, thinks cycling may be the way to ease traffic congestion.

Most of the initiatives sound very familiar, more bike lanes, more bike parking, and the now ubiquitous "bike hire scheme", but there is one addition to the list that is very important and often overlooked, people to inspect the infrastructure regularly to identify and repair hazards.

"a team of transportation workers is checking the condition of bike lanes in addition to its regular task of monitoring streets. As the workers check bike lanes for potholes and other hazards, they ride bicycles."

Why has New York suddenly taken steps towards improve cycling conditions? Could it be because Janette Sadik-Khan is herself a commuting cyclist?

As we head towards a Federal Election in Australia maybe it's time we started looking for the cyclists amongst our politicians before we vote.

Death of Gossamer Wings

2007-09-01T10:25:00.000+10:00

Paul MacCready, the man who designed and built the first human-powered plane, has died in the USA.

"The spindly, translucent Gossamer Condor that resulted was crafted of aluminum tubing, plastic sheeting, piano wire and Scotch tape. The pilot was Bryan Allen, a strong, slender bicycle racer who powered the single propeller by pedalling a drive chain made largely of old bicycle parts.

The Condor flew from the outset, but not well. The bizarre aircraft crashed scores of times during flight tests, but Allen always emerged relatively unscathed. MacCready noted drily that his crash-and-rebuild system worked for the Condor, "but it is not the way to develop airliners".

Finally, on August 23, 1977, the Condor made a successful seven-minute flight around the airport in the dusty San Joaquin Valley farming town of Shafter. MacCready claimed the Kremer prize. "We're at last achieving a goal that man has had for thousands of years," he said.

Within months, Kremer had offered a prize of about $US213,000 for the first human-powered flight across the English Channel. MacCready claimed it with his Gossamer Albatross, which, with Allen on the pedals, took off from Folkestone, England, one June day in 1979 and three hours later landed on the beach at Cap Gris-Nez, France."

You can read his obit, a fitting memorial to an original thinker, in the Herald

'MacCready often stressed the importance of independent thought. "You will find that your teachers are sometimes wrong," he told a group of Santa Monica schoolchildren in 1998. "Your parents will be wrong. Your schools will be wrong. If you look for the answers yourself, you will find that you can do better."'

Find a bike buddy

2007-08-31T08:30:00.000+10:00

Finding a bike buddy or sharing your bicycle route knowledge has just become easier thanks to a new website,
gutter monkey.org

Another Electric Bicycle Hits the Shops

2007-08-28T09:11:00.000+10:00

Is it just my imagination, or are there more bicycle-related stories hitting the news?

Souped-up pedal power in today's Herald talks about the latest Chinese electric bike imported by PowerCor Pushies.

Electric bicycles can be a great way to introduce someone who doesn't feel confident on a bicycle to cycling. When speaking to groups of people about bicycles as transport we have noticed that older people are often very interested in the idea of an electric bike. Often people seem unaware that a bicycle with a 200watt motor is legally a bicycle. Then there are the people who think they aren't fit enough to ride who see this as an easy introduction to cycling. I strongly suspect that they find they don't really need the power assistance at all, but if it gets them out on a bike, who cares?

Must See Video

2007-08-26T09:16:00.000+10:00

OK, it's American, but it still contains messages relevant to Australian cyclists and motorists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7M-_ueoU2E

UCI Para-Cycling

2007-08-22T09:41:00.000+10:00

Watching able bodied athletes perform is always exciting, but I find that I am constantly amazed by the achievements of athletes who are less able bodied.
You can read about Australia's most recent UCI Para-Cycling successes in the Herald.

Congratulations to:
Michael Gallagher
Jane Armstrong
Jayme Paris
Angela Fleming
Chris Scott
Trent Deacon
Felicity Johnson and pilot Katie Parker
Lindy Hou and pilot Toireasa Gallagher
Ben Demery and his pilot Shaun Hopkins
Kieran Modra and pilot Tyson Lawrence

Brisbane Bike Bus

2007-08-17T18:53:00.000+10:00

More on Bike Hire Schemes

2007-08-07T08:43:00.000+10:00

City of Sydney Councillor Shayne Mallard injects some sense into the notion of operating a successful bicycle hire scheme in Sydney with this comment, "the collective view is we need to build a bit more cycling infrastructure before we can successfully introduce a mass bike hire scheme".

The biggest question I have is why are Councils involving themselves in what is, without doubt, a business activity and not a Council activity?

The only answer I have come up with so far is that the bike hire schemes proposed by JCDecaux use public space, and as such, not only need approval, but should also go out to tender. Now, JCDecaux has very cleverly positioned themselves to provide something Councils want, ie bike hire, with a trade-off Councils don't want, ie more signage. Councils are prepared to accept the down-side on the basis that the greater good outweighs the disadvantages. Oh yes, and the use of public space also requires leasing fees be paid to Council. So successful has this approach been, that Adshell, no doubt fearful of losing its billboard supremecy in Melbourne and Brisbane, has now bought out a similar bike hire system so they can throw their hat into the bike hire ring.

There are 2 businesses currently offering bike hire within the City of Sydney that we have located. What would it take to encourage them to expand their offering?

Now, Adelaide, in conjunction with Bike SA, has a free city bike scheme running. The beauty of this scheme is that it is being run by people who actually want to promote cycling, and there are no nasty trade-offs. When was the last time you heard anyone mention this scheme, rather than JCDecaux, when talking about possible bike hire schemes for Sydney?

But what do parents want?

2007-08-03T18:44:00.001+10:00

It appears that a growing number of parents want their children to ride a bike to school according to the Herald today.
The same old arguments about it being healthy, good for the environment and reducing traffic congestion are all there. Allison Roberts deserves a big gold star for her comment, 'most teenagers "haven't had any gradual education about roads and traffic and movement" which cycling provides.' This is a good point, by getting kids on bikes they will have better road sense when they get a drivers license.

I hope the Primary Schools Principal Association takes note of this.

How to reduce class sizes and increase school revenue

2007-08-02T15:49:00.000+10:00

What do Primary School Principals think should be taught in their schools?
According to the Australian Primary Principals Association President, Leonie Trimper, quoted in today's Herald, "English, maths, science and history" (and yes, only English was presented with a capital letter, and yes, there was no comma after and).

So what happens to "life skills", you know, things like teaching kiddy-winks not to get run over by parents in their 4 wheel drives outside the school grounds?

"The draft charter suggests programs and interventions, such as bike safety and financial literacy, should only be taught if they don't detract from a school's core business."

Maybe Principals think the only way to draw attention to large class sizes is to have a few more pupils mowed down in the street? Or that the key to raising school revenue is to con a few kids out of a few cents in every tuckshop transaction?

Why?????

2007-07-29T11:42:00.000+10:00

Pedaller doesn't often comment on the sport of cycling, leaving that to those who are better informed. But Pedaller loves the Tour de France, and read Richard Hinds' article in today's Herald with some dismay.
Why do Jounalists insist on reporting in depth on every whisper of a drug scandal?
Why can't those involved just be droppped quietly from the Tour without fuss, their names never to be repeated?
Why can't we focus our attention on the amazing demonstration of sporting prowess exhibited by those still in the race?
Why can't we be proud of the fact that we are less than a day away from having the first Australian in a Tour de France podium position?

SumoSalad pedapods

2007-07-26T14:42:00.000+10:00

Check out the SumoSalad pedapods in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast for a free ride and SumoSalad coupons!

Bike Bus Leader Training Day

2007-07-22T11:43:00.000+10:00

The inaugral Bike Bus Leader Training Course was held yesterday.
Graeme and Keith from Bike North led the training and did a superb job of explaining the function of a bike bus and the role of the leader. There was a good mix of theory, case studies, and practice.

Each Bike Bus Leader led the Bike Bus on a route around Sydney Olympic Park, with a couple of bike bus stops, and a number of incidents along the way ranging from simple mechanical problems to serious health problems. By the end of the day, all of the Leaders had demonstrated that they were competent to handle almost any situtation that might arise while leading a Bike Bus.

If you would like to attend the next Bike Bus Leader Training Course, contact the bike bus project.

Cycling Stats

2007-07-20T09:57:00.000+10:00

The following statistics come from Rupert Guinness' "On your bike - join the happy throng" piece in the Sydney Morning Herald today.

'SBS ratings for its Tour coverage are up by 31 per cent on last year.'

'Cycling Australia, the sport's competitive arm, last year recorded a 17 per cent increase in a membership base that now numbers about 25,000.'

'..Sydney to the Gong charity event, which has more than 6000 entries, the Around the Bay in a Day benefit ride in Victoria, which attracts 8000-plus, or the Be Active Tour in South Australia, which, has more than 2000 entries..'

'..sales of bicycles in Australia have almost doubled since 1998 to exceed a million a year for the past four years - more than the number of car sales in Australia.'

'..independent research cited by Cycling Australia show a "base population cycling audience" - those who have an interest in cycling, whether they ride, watch, read about or discuss the sport - of 7 million.'

And Rupert's coup de grace .... "If you suspect the statistics, let's make it simple. Just put your head outside and take a good look around."

Well done Rupert!

Cycling also got a mention in General practitioner Toby Ford's report into health of Queensland farmers in which he suggests that farmers should get on their bikes around the farm in order to improve their health. While it's great that he thought of cycling in this context, and it would work very well for "hobby farms", I think my family would have died trying to get around 25,000 hectares on a bike.

Carbulltown

2007-07-18T09:28:00.000+10:00

Campbelltown Council has just launched an 8 minute DVD "highlighting the stifling traffic congestion being experienced by Campbelltown residents daily on the F5 Freeway and the Hume Highway."

I particularly like this excerpt, "The DVD shows how local and inter city motorists are forced to crawl along this road during peak hours in the morning and afternoon."

Forced??? Who is forcing them? Surely these people chose to put themselves in this position (for whatever reason).

Now, what about this quote,
"The impact is not just limited to a reduction in precious family time, but the traffic is causing a deterioration in regional air quality levels, as well as an increase in stress, which is affecting the well-being and health of Campbelltown and other Macarthur residents."

I'm sure this is true. But what is Council's solution to these problems in the DVD?
More damn roads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hereby rename Campbelltown Carbulltown!!!!

Lesson 1: More roads = more cars
Lesson 2: More cars = more traffic congestion and stress, reduction in "family time" and air quality
Lesson 3: more traffic congestion and stress, reduction in "family time" and air quality = calls to build more roads
Lesson 4: see Lesson 1
Lesson 5: the only viable way to reduce traffic congestion is to reduce the amount of traffic

Why is there never a call for improved public transport services in these cases?
Here's a neat idea, why not ride your bike to and from the train station?
Why not organise a bike bus and ride with friends?

Here endeth the lesson.

Reading between the (bike) lanes.

2007-07-17T08:44:00.000+10:00

Paris is the next city to fall prey to JCDecaux and its bicycle hire scheme.
20,000 bikes are expected to be part of the scheme by the end of year, located at 1,450 stations in the city.
The first half hour is free, but how much will a free ride really cost?
"A year-long pass costs $US39.50 ($A45.65), while a one-day pass costs a euro - about $US1.36 ($A1.57)" according to the story in the Sydney Morning Herald.

According to the Washington Post,
"The company will pay start-up costs of about $115 million and employ the equivalent of about 285 people full time to operate the system and repair the bikes for 10 years. All revenue from the program will go to the city, and the company will also pay Paris a fee of about $4.3 million a year."

So, do Councils really care about the environment or promoting cycling, or is this just about generating more revenue?

And why would a business like JCDecaux plan to lose millions of dollars every year? Doesn't make sense does it. What's the catch?

"In exchange, Paris is giving the company exclusive control over 1,628 city-owned billboards, including the revenue from them, or the same period.

In Sydney a city billboard is worth about $300 per week, so the Parisian Council is handing over about $US20 million a year. Not even enough to cover the start-up costs.
BUT, JCDecaux will have EXCLUSIVE ownership of the billboards, so the cost to advertisers is likely to jump as it does in any monopoly situation. And I would think there will be plans to increase the number of billboards available, after all, they are providing free bikes and a minimum of $4.3million per year for the Council coffers.

Now what about the environmental impact of the bikes themselves?
"In Lyon, according to deputy mayor Touraine, the city's 3,000 rental bikes have logged about 10 million miles since the program started in May 2005, saving an estimated 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being spewed into the air."

Sounds good ..... except,
"they are exploring ways to redistribute bikes using trucks to better match customers' needs"
That will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions saving ..... and what about the vehicles used to take people around to maintain the bikes? I have a feeling they won't be using bikes for that either! I rather think there were won't be much reduction in air pollution really.

So, in summary, Councils are chasing bike hire schemes in order to improve their cash-flow. This explains why they don't seem interested in talking to local businesses that already run bike hire schemes in order to establish similar services in city areas inadequately serviced by bike hire. Personally I'd much rather see bike hire schemes run by people whose main interest is in promoting cycling rather than by companies whose main interest is in cluttering the footpaths and roadways with billboards.

City Bike Depot Sale

2007-07-12T10:38:00.000+10:00

10-60% off a HUGE variety of clothing, accessories, bikes, parts, one-off sample items and a free barbeque.

When: Wednesday 18/7 to Saturday 21/7/07
Time: Wednesday night 6.00-10.00pm, Norm Hours Thurs - Sat
Where: City Bike Depot, 305 Kent St., Sydney CBD

Thumbs Down for SOPA

2007-07-11T08:49:00.000+10:00

A pink banner emblazoned on the side of a Sydney bus that read "Bikies welcome" caught my attention yesterday, mostly because I've never associated that particular shade of hot pink with bikies.

As I got closer to the bus, I read further, "at Sydney Olympic Park". So Sydney Olympic Park is welcoming bikies? A strange advertising idea, but who knows, maybe they're hosting a gathering of bikies?

But wait ..... there's more.....

Between the two messages I finally see the somewhat smaller image of an adult male with a child on bicycles (I can't even remember if they were wearing helmets or not, but I rather think they weren't as they would have obscured the image even more).

Now I'm pondering the message being sent here .... does Sydney Olympic Park really put cyclists into the same category as bikies? As a cyclist I'd like to see cycling portrayed as a nice, clean, healthy, socially-responsible activity, I'm not sure that the community sees bikies this way. I'm sure this is just some sort of mis-guided attempt at humour on the part of Sydney Olympic Park.

Then I pondered the appropriateness of the message in terms of the media, ie, the side of a bus. Now we all know, as I'm the marketing department of Sydney Olympic Park also knows, that you cannot take your bicycle on Sydney bus. So, I'm assuming the hidden message is "Bik(i)es may not be welcome on this bus but they are welcome at Sydney Olympic Park". I'd rather see a more positive, socially-responsible message, eg, put the message on a train or train station, then the message would be "you can take your bicycle on a train to Sydney Olympic Park".

Does the message work? Well, it caught my attention, so maybe it does.
Does it enhance the position of cycling in the community? Absolutely not!

Perhaps the marcomms team at Sydney Olympic Park might like to run their ideas past a cyclist before their next ad campaign.

Bike Bus Website

2007-07-05T08:25:00.000+10:00

The Bike Bus website is live!

And here is a video to share :)

Detour de France Screening

2007-06-05T12:29:00.000+10:00

Suits and (other ?) cyclists congregated last night for the screening of Detour de France. All the usual cycling suspects were there, and ofcourse it was a great night. Spinopsys probably tells it better than I would .... and Phil took a camera so there are photos.

I went to see the film obviously, but also to ask a few questions (as soon as I could corner the relevant RTA and Council people).

How far away is the implementation of the JCDecaux bicycle hire scheme?

(much laughter) ... well, they are not the only contenders. The scheme will go to tender, possibly this year. (sigh of relief from me, ateast it is still possible that an organisation with a primary focus on cyclying might submit a tender).

What happened to the King Street/Kent Street proposed bike lanes in the Bicycle Stratgey?

Well .... um .... actually .... um...... we wrote a new strategy. The "K" street has become a dirty word, the new cycling nirvana will be on Clarence Street ..... or possibly "K". You should check out the new Cycling Strategy 2007-2017. King Street lanes will go ahead.

So, I have checked out the new cycling strategy. Lots of pretty pictures. Not a lot of substance. The only improvement I can see is that different types of cyclists have been categorized, in an appendix. Seems to me this should be the starting point, not an appendix. I think anyone involved in the sport of cycling will find the comment about their needs being met quite .... amusing.

"Sports cyclists travel exclusively on roads and high speed separated paths. The city is catering for this type of cyclist through its general facilities."

As for cycling commuters,

"Commuter cycling has a high potential for growth, but is not currently seen as desirable.
.....Commuter cycling is usually best provided by utilising the existing road network ...."

"Not seen as desirable"???? By who?????
But I think the second part quoted is true.

It seems to me that the focus is off enouraging people to cycle in the CBD and clearly on encouraging people to cycle in the residential suburbs of the City of Sydney, with emphasis on encouring recreational cyclists.

RTA rep interjection, "How much time has been lost while you re-wrote the strategy?"
"well ... um .... Clarence Street was always the Council's preferred option, Kent Street was only proposed because of the Cross City Tunnel. Besides, the strategy is much better now"

RTA rep, "How much money does it cost to get 1 more person to ride a bicycle?"

The Council person is about to discuss details of the cost of bicycle infrastructure, but that it isn't the point. At this point, for the second time in my life I find myself on the same wavelength as someone who works for the RTA. If you want to encourage people to cycle, you have to cut the ties that bind them to their cars. Cars must be seen as unattractive, and bicycles have to be seen as sexy. Driving a car will have to be associated with low social status, cycling as higher status. By all means draw a few bike lanes on roads and put in a few recreational shared paths, at the very least it helps raise the profile of cycling, but let's start putting some real thought into how change the image of cycling.

Must See TV

2007-05-24T08:53:00.000+10:00

ABC TV Catalyst Special: People Power
Thursday 24^th May 2007
10pm (after "Crude")
"Inspiring people from all over Australia tackling the threat of climate change"
Look out for the section on riding bicycle to work!

Bike Bargains

2007-05-18T08:34:00.000+10:00

Clarence Street Cyclery Sale
Wednesday 23^rd May to Sunday 27^th May 2007.
Save up to 50% on all items including bikes, accessories and clothing.

World Environment Day Cycle Breakfasts

2007-05-17T09:34:00.000+10:00

5 June 2007
7:30 AM – 9:00 AM (Doors Open 7:30 AM)

Get on your bike this World Environment Day and join the City of Sydney at two breakfasts especially for cyclists this June, 5th.

To thank cyclists for keeping another car off the road, the City is providing a free, hearty breakfast and conversation with fellow cyclists at two venues across Sydney.

Find out more about the plans the City has to make it easier and safer to cycle on our streets as part of its ten year cycle strategy.

And, as the short winter days close in, it's important to be visible on the road. The City has a limited number of safety kits to hand out on the morning.

Venues: Union Square, Pyrmont & Hyde Park South (Oxford Street end)
Time: 7:30 - 9:00am

Free Rides to the Fitness Expo this Weekend

2007-04-18T20:24:00.000+10:00

Catch a free ride on a "Circuits 4 Life" pedapod to the Fitness Expo at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre this weekend.
Go to stand H40 and tell the lovely Circuits 4 Life people that you came in a pedapod, and you'll get a special surprise!

Safe Routes to School

2007-03-30T08:14:00.000+10:00

Every State in the USA has a co-ordinator and funding available to make cycling routes to schools safer.

More information is available at
League of American Bicyclists : Safe Routes to School
SafeRoutes : National Center for Safe Routes to School

Time to Vote

2007-03-23T07:59:00.000+11:00

There are many reasons why a person will choose to vote one way or another in an election. Some will will vote without considering the policies of any Party, some will vote for a personality, some will vote solely on the issues raised in the Press, and others will base their decision on each Party's policies. Once elected, however, a Government always believes that it has been given "a mandate" by the electorate to implement its policies. So maybe it's time we all took a look at Party policies before we vote.

This year, the Cycling Promotion Fund set up the Vote 4 Cycling website which gave each candidate/Party a chance to highlight their cycling policies. Now I'm sure that most voters will not be casting their votes based on whether or not a Party has a cycling policy, but, if you vote for a Party that does not have a formal cycling policy then there is no reason for that Party to do anything to promote cycling once elected, no policy = no accountability.

On a related note, I read the Lane Cove Tunnel story in the Sydney Morning Herald today. So what happened to the promised bicycle lanes?

Implementation of transit lanes, new right-hand turn lanes and construction of the footpath and cycleway planned for Epping Road will not begin until the middle of the year.

.

The middle of which year I wonder?

Vote 4 Cycling

2007-03-15T06:47:00.000+11:00

The results of the CPF's Cycling Survey of NSW Political Parties is in.
Candidate Survey.

Neither the ALP or the Liberal Party completed the survey.
So, the Libs now have a cycling policy but couldn't be bothered to complete a survey.... what does this say about their commitment to cycling I wonder?

Pedapod Pilots Needed!

2007-03-14T10:10:00.000+11:00

Ride a bike and earn money at the same time!

Pedapod is looking for riders for April and May in Sydney and Perth.

A great way to improve your hill-climbing skills!

Attempted Murder of a Cyclist?

2007-02-23T08:56:00.000+11:00

In the Daily Telegraph today comes a story from the Sunshine Coast:

As the car approached a front seat passenger opened the door, which struck the cyclist on the leg.

The car then drove away without stopping to help.

The cyclist suffered serious injuries to his leg, including lacerations which exposed the bone.

If the police ever catch the culprits, I wonder what they'll be charged with?
Reckless driving endangering life?
Attempted murder?
Failure to stop at the scene of an accident?

I know we all hope this cyclist will recover from his injuries quickly, I also hope he got the number of that car.

More Buses to Ease Congestion?

2007-02-22T08:28:00.000+11:00

200,000 people came into the Sydney CBD on Tuesday to see the QM2 and the QE2 according to the Sydney Morning Herald, and to see the night time fireworks. And yes it led to a bit of traffic congestion during the day, and even more at night, and not just on the roads, also on the footpaths and on the water. Premier Iemma got caught in the traffic and apparently isn't happy about it.

Pedapod did a roaring trade ofcourse, more customers than pedapods on the road in fact. By 5pm all our pedapod pilots were totally exhausted, and we pulled out of the city a little after 5pm.

So what caused all this traffic congestion? There appeared to be two main issues:
1/ private cars heading across the city (ie, not using the Cross City Tunnel) towards Woolloomooloo
2/ a huge influx of buses, of which only about 30 ferried people off the ship, but thousands came from all over the state bringing people to gawk at the ships

Which leads us to the Premier's suggested solution to city traffic congestion in the Daily Telegraph, more buses, indeed "standing room only" buses!
Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore has already rejected this "interesting" idea saying,

"Cramming commuters on to buses like cattle will not make public transport more attractive and will not address congestion at overloaded CBD railway stations,"

I wonder how the Liberal's Debman would react to this?

Pedapod in the Press

2007-02-21T07:37:00.000+11:00

"Third Wheel", Radar's Table for Eight, Sydney Morning Herald, 20/2/07.

At Circular Quay, Amanda and Andre boarded a Pedapod Pedicab. A Pedapod is essentially a tricycle, pedal-powered but with a 200-watt electric motor to help out on big hills. The environmentally friendly transport emits no greenhouse gases or nitrogen oxides and has a protective cabin made from recycled plastic milk bottles. Pedapod (www.pedapod.4t.com) runs tours of the Sydney CBD and also operates a taxi service you can book ahead or hail kerbside.

Our lucky couple thoroughly enjoyed the experience. "We felt like royalty, smiling and waving," Amanda said. Andre agreed. "People looked at us strangely," he said.

With music piped through the cabin, the pair could have reclined in peace, but that was never going to happen. The tour provided a "lot of talking time" and the nattering "didn't stop" for self-confessed chatterboxes Andre and Amanda, who "didn't finish a conversation all night".

The Pedapod ride wound up at Wagamama in Bridge Street where the couple was treated to a dinner.

Motoring Lobby Gears Up for the Election

2007-02-19T09:50:00.000+11:00

The Telegraph has a couple of stories this morning to warm the hearts of the driving lobby, Wasting life behind a wheel and Fines put 54,000 off road. In the first story we hear about increases in travel times by car commuters, in the second we hear that people have lost their drivers' licenses' for failure to pay parking fines. Well I , for one, am not about to feel sorry for someone who suffers the penality for not paying a fine.

But what about "wasting life behind a wheel"?

The NRMA last night said the strained road network was a genuine election issue, with millions of drivers demanding more investment in easing the daily jams.

I don't think the drivers would be pleased to hear that the only effective method to reduce traffic congestion is to reduce traffic.

Sydney to get an Overhaul?

2007-02-18T11:51:00.000+11:00

Meet the new Mr Sydney in the Sydney Morning Herald today.

Professor Jan Gehl and his team will undertake a 10-month study to find a way to give back the city to pedestrians and cyclists.

Sounds like a good idea, but why do we always seem to rely on international expertise? Why can't find Australian solutions to Australian problems? Why do we think that the views of someone who doesn't live in Sydney will somehow be objectively better than the views of people who do live here?

Cr Moore said the council wanted to return Sydney to being a pedestrian city and reduce the volume of traffic. But she did not want to pre-empt the study by suggesting how this could be achieved.

But she then goes on to add,

"Really effective pedestrian cities reduce motor vehicle use," she said. "You do it with adequate public transport and adequate other modes of transport as well as establishing pedestrian and cycle routes into and out of the central city area.

"We want him to do the work, to do the survey and to present a compelling case about what needs to happen."

And, we might add, the city needs to be a place that people want to go to or to live in. That means encouraging businesses to set up shop in the city and it means encouraging entertainment spaces back into the city. One of the best features of Melbourne is that many of its major entertainment spaces are within the CBD or within walking distance of the CBD. On the other hand, many of Sydney's entertainment spaces are in the suburbs (Sydney Olympic Park, The Entertainment Quarter etc).

Cycling is the New Golf

2007-02-17T08:42:00.000+11:00

It's official. Cycling really is the new golf according to Brisbane's Courier Mail.

CYCLING has become the new golf. For the first time, the number of people who name cycling as their sport or activity has topped one million, outnumbering golf's 875,000.

Bicycle Queensland's Ben Wilson suggests this is because cycling provides great networking opportunities, not just while you're on the ride but also at the coffee shop afterwards.

The Age has a story that looks at the lighter side of cycling as the "new golf".

At 8am in his bike gear he's not going anywhere, he's "just done a quick 100 kilometres in a bunch with Cadel Evans". This from a man who used to drive up to the shops to buy his family-size block of Cadbury Dairy Milk.

I wonder if this is also not part of cycling's appeal as the "new golf"? Even professional elite cyclists need to use public roads for training, so the chances of actually meeting, and "training" with a pro (if you can keep up) are much greater than in most other sports. And it also seems to me that pro cyclists are actually encouraged by their teams to be accessible to the fans.

So maybe it's time to dust off that bike and take to the road? You never know who you might meet.

Cyclist Taken for a Ride

2007-02-16T06:37:00.000+11:00

P-plater tows man on bike - Newcastle

A p-plate driver has been issued a traffic infringement notice after allegedly towing another man on a bicycle near Newcastle.
About 8.55pm officers were called to Maitland Road at Mayfield after reports a Mitsubishi Magna sedan was towing a man on a bike.
Police from Newcastle Local Area Command attended and allegedly observed a man holding onto the cars passenger side window while on a bicycle.
Police believe the car was travelling about 60km/h.
Police stopped the car on Shortland Esplanade at Nobbys and spoke with the driver.
The 17-year-old male driver from The Junction was issued a traffic infringement notice.

OK, so this is a really dumb thing to do .... but .... surely it is not entirely the car driver that is at fault here? What penalty was imposed on the stupid cyclist?

Greenpower?

2007-02-15T09:34:00.000+11:00

Yesterday, the City of Sydney hosted an "Environment Expo" at Martin Place. Bicycle NSW had a marquee, the Toyota Prius was on display, and Council show-cased some of its own initiatives. You may even have noticed a pedapod lurking in the area.
Was it a success? Well, we've already taken a few phone calls this morning from people asking about our bike bus.

One of the things that we picked up at the Expo was a leaflet entitled "Reducing Household Greenhouse Gases" put out by the NSW State Government's Greenpower organisation.
This provides a page of "accredited" greenpower suppliers:
ActewAGL
AGL
Australian Power & Gas
countryenergy
Energy Australia
Energy One
Integral Energy
Jackgreen
Origin Energy
power direct
TRU energy

And 2 organisations that allow you to stay with your current electricity supplier but purchase GreenPower credits:
climate friendly
GreenSwitch

But, just how green are all these suppliers? The Total Environment Centre and the Australian Conservation Foundation got together to put up a really useful website, Green Electricity Watch. This is a site that ranks the product offerings of each of these suppliers. What becomes very clear, very quickly, is that you need to be careful not just about which supplier you choose, but also which product you buy from them.
For example, Jackgreen gets a "very poor" rating for its product.
Origin's GreenEarth Solar or Wind products are rated "very good", but its Green Earth(NSW) product only rates "fair".
Energy Australia only manages to rate "fair" or "very poor" for its products.

There is a nice summary of the rated products available in pdf format.

As more and more people start looking for greener electricity suppliers, we can expect to see an increase in these spuriously "green" products in the marketplace.

Plane Trees?

2007-02-13T09:18:00.000+11:00

The Sydney Morning Herald asks How green is your journey?

Plane travel contributes an estimated 2 per cent of global warming impact, but our obsession with criss-crossing the planet means this is set to triple in the next 50 years, says the Stern report into climate change.

A return trip to Europe will cost around 11 tonnes of carbon emissions, or the equivalent of driving your car to work for a couple of years.
A return trip between Sydney and Melbourne will cost around 1 tonne of carbon emissions, or the equivalent of driving your car to work for a couple of months.

So what is the Travel Industry doing?

British Airways and lastminute.com offer the option of going carbon neutral.

Qantas has no immediate plans for an offset scheme but is updating its fleet with more fuel-efficient aircraft such as the A380, which a spokesman said could reduce emissions by 15 to 20 per cent.

Tourism Tasmania has just announced it will pay to offset the flights of US tourists coming to Tasmania.

Intrepid Travel co-founder Darrell Wade announced that all air tickets sold would automatically include a carbon offset payment.

What can you do?

Pay Greenfleet to plant trees to offset the carbon emissions.

Pay Element Tree to plant trees.

Pay Carbon Neutral to plant trees.

Pay Easy Being Green to fund greenhouse gas reduction community projects.

Pay CO2 Australia to plant Mallee Eucalypts.

Pay Climate Friendly to invest in renewable energy projects.

Or, you might rethink your travel plans. In the age of high speed internet and video conferencing, how many of those business trips are really essential? If you're holidaying interstate, perhaps a train journey would be a worthwhile experience in it's own right? What about hiring a "cabin" on a commercial ship travelling the coast?

What about reducing your carbon footprint generally? Choose a "green energy" supplier, energy efficient appliances, and choose more environmentally-friendly commuting options (public transport, walking and cycling). And, if you really want to make some major inroads into reducing your carbon footprint think about what you eat! Only eat food produced locally, it will have travelled less than imported food or food that comes from interstate. Eat lower on the food chain, meat production requires enormous amounts of grain which could otherwise be eaten by humans. 1kg of beef requires 10kg of grain, 1kg of pork requires 5kg of grain, 1kg of chicken requires about 3kg of grain. And, each hectare of land put aside for meat production is one less hectare available for these "tree planting" businesses.

There's no doubt in my mind that carbon-offest programs are becoming big business. It seems very much that people don't feel like they are doing anything environmentally useful unless it costs them money, hence the proliferation of these "tree planting" businesses.

NSW State Election

2007-02-11T10:28:00.000+11:00

I hear that a NSW State Election is set for 24^th March.
Time to start thinking about who to vote for.

Greens
no new motorways
public transport (bus, train, rail, trams)

design all new roads, bridges and upgrades to be safe for bicycles and reallocate road building funds to the construction of a comprehensive bicycle network

You can check out the Greens State Election Platform here.

Liberal Party
public transport: reduce CBD buses, increase rail and trams
there seems to be no policy on roads
and no mention of bicycles
and no election platform statement

Labor Party
You won't find any policy statements on Labor's website. For these you will have to visit Morris Iemma's site.
new roads
1000 new buses
700 new train carriages
trams (Scully opposed trams, but now he's gone, are trams back on the agenda?)
bicycles?
no election platform statement

So, it doesn't matter which party wins power, it looks like Sydney will be going backwards by re-introducing unsightly, noisy, bicycle-unfriendly, electricity-guzzling trams.

Bicycles, as usual, will continue to be ignored (at least the Greens mention cycling infrastructure). And no-one seems to be taking a more holistic approach, recognising that urban development, transport, energy and the environment are all inter-related. Building tram lines, increases electricty use, placing more pressure on the grid, increasing greenhouse gas emissions. More buses, trains and roads makes living further from the workplace more agreeable, encouraging urban sprawl, the destruction of the natural environment, and increasing our energy usage.

Is there an Independent out there who has really thought through the consequences of the various policy statements and has something sensible, logical and rational to say?

Or maybe it's time for cyclists to form our own political Party? Afterall, if the "Horse Riders Party" and "Fishing Party" are already registered, why shouldn't there be a "Cyclists Party"? And we wouldn't be a one-policy party. Transport, environment, education, and health are already on our political agenda.

Stay tuned to NSW EC > State Election 2007 > Candidates for more information about canditates after 9^th March.
ABC's 'Elections' also makes for interesting reading.

Sydney Body Art Ride

2007-02-08T07:10:00.000+11:00

Support the Children's Cancer Institute Australia and join the human rainbow that is the Sydney Body Art ride.
Date: Sunday 11^th February, 2007
Place: Physics lawn at the University of New South Wales (entry via Barker St gate)
Time: 9:30am to get painted up
Registration: minimum $2 donation to the Children's Cancer Institute Australia

Perth's Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses

2007-02-07T09:02:00.000+11:00

Perth's hydrogen fuel cell buses:

produce no greenhouse gases
produce no smog-creating emsisions
are quiet
are more efficient than internal combustion engines
are predicted to be cheaper in the long term to maintain and operate than internal combustion engine vehicles

The Basic Chemistry

Internal Combustion Engine: burns (combusts) a hydrocarbon of some description (methane AKA natural gas, LPG, petrol or diesel) releasing water vapour and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is one of the main "greenhouse gases".
hydrocarbon + oxygen (air) -----> carbon dioxide + water
Impurities in the hydrocarbon such as nitrogen and sulfur are also burnt in the process. Nitrogen oxides are the main cause of photochemical smog (that haze you see in the sky). Catalytic converters (used on vehicles reliant on unleaded petrol) combine carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides to produce even more carbon dioxide.
Inefficient combustion of the hydrocarbon also leads to the release of particulates into the atmosphere, especially carbon. This also produces a certain quantity of carbon monoxide (more lethal than carbon dioxide).

Hydrogen Fuel Cells: uses hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and water vapour by an electrochemical process.
hydrogen + oxygen -----> water

ie, no greenhouse gas emissions, no particulates, no smog. And electric motors are just quieter than internal combustion engines.
The main problem with these fuel cells is where you obtain the hydrogen. In theory it is possible to use water to obtain the hydrogen (and oxygen) electrolytically, but in practice this is not so easy although a lot of researchers are investigating this problem. In WA the hydrogen being used is a by-product from BP's Kwinana oil refinery. Steam reforming of natural gas is currently the most widely used and economical method of producing hydrogen. In the future it may be possible to source hydrogen from biomass or municipal waste gasification.

The Buses

The buses have a passenger capacity of 60-70 people with a range of 200-300km using ~44kg (1890L) of compressed hydrogen.

Catch a Bus
The WA Government is so justly proud of this "ecobus trial" that they produce a separate timetable. I guess there must be a lot of people just like me who are keen to take an ecobus.