How do we figure out the best way to get from point A to point B? Does finding the most scenic and peaceful route, such as one with a walk by a beautiful park, matter to you? Is the quickest and most cost-efficient route, such as by subway, more important to you? Or, is getting to where you’re going as quickly as possible, such as in a taxi that is able to rush through the streets, the best way for you?
In New York City, there are many ways to get around the city — subways, trains, buses, taxis, pedicabs, ferries and bikes, to name a few. I often use HopStop apps to find the most efficient way to get to my destination of the day. With these kinds of choices, New Yorkers can plan how to get to where they’re going in any number of ways.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, of all people who commute to work in NYC, 41% use the subway, 24% drive alone, 12% take the bus, 10% walk to work, 2% travel by commuter rail, 5% carpool, 1% use a taxi, 0.6% ride their bike to work, and 0.2% travel by ferry.
The NYC Subway is the largest rapid transit system in the world when measured by track mileage (656 miles, or 1,056 km of mainline track). With such excellent public transportation, NYC has been regarded as one of the most energy-efficient cities in the U.S.
To further expand and improve our current transportation system, in May 2012, Mayor Michael R.
Citibank endorsed $41M for the Share Program in NYC
Bloomberg announced that 10,000 bikes, docked at 600 stations, are expected to be available for Citi Bike Share Program by next summer. The city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) said it would unveil a map of the bike stations in May and the first bikes are scheduled to reach the streets in parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn at the end of July 2012.
In 2009, the NYC DOT announced a strategic plan with an accelerated goal of doubling bike commuting between 2007 and 2012, and tripling it by 2017. Amazingly, the city reached the goal of doubling bike commuting in 2011, a year early, and a recent New York Times article, “This is How We Ride“, and its number of readers responses show just how overwhelmed New Yorkers are about the recent increase of bike riders in the city.
One of the Times readers, Yang Congtou from Beijing, referring to other readers’ opinions, said “It always surprises me that the resistance to bicycles is so deeply entrenched in the US.”
I don’t know if this attitude reflects general opinion of most Americans but, certainly New Yorkers are not thrilled by the recent increasing use of bike use in the city. Over 8 Million New Yorkers in five boroughs have to live harmoniously with cranky and self-absorbed pedestrians and aggressive taxi drivers. But add to that bikers flying down the street and ignoring traffic rules, and no wonder why many New Yorkers feel uncomfortable about growing number of bikers in the city.
More than 200 cities around the world now have bike-share programs and people especially in Europe take advantage of these programs. In many cities in the world, the bike is increasingly regarded as an integral part of urban transportation. In line with this trend NYC’s DOT will launch a Citi Bike Share Program.
What, then, is the gap between what the DOT is promoting for the city’s transformation and how the bike in general is perceived? Why do we struggle with this change in NYC? What can we do about it?
I found the magic words to understanding the city’s issues in one sentence of the article. The writer, David Byrne, noted, “European bikers take traffic rules seriously.” This, however, is not the case with NYC bikers. I just don’t know how many times that I’ve been almost run over by bikers who ignore red traffic lights, and I don’t know when I’ve seen any law enforcement stop this hazard.
In one of my past posts “New Wealth“, I discussed how the new world allows us to breathe and gives us freedom. I firmly believe our increasingly globalized and interlinked economies and communities will bring us “new wealth” and a new paradigm. Still, we need to follow basic rules in order to live harmoniously and freely with millions of people in condensed urban environments. If the DOT would like to transform the city, it needs to have a practical and effective plan for handling the new traffic.
Living considerately — that is a mark of a true sustainable society. Do you agree?
<Information of NYC Bike Map>
Recent Comments