After commuting totally by bicycle on Tuesday, yesterday I took the extra genteel possibility by using to the closest commuter rail station:
Touring on this trend saves me no time over the subway, and certainly I nonetheless must take the subway to Brooklyn as soon as I get to Grand Central. Nevertheless, I do get to take pleasure in comfortable seats and a pleasing river view for awhile:
And the quick and pretty bucolic journey to and from the station is a pleasant little bonus:
Using all the best way to Brooklyn takes me significantly longer than both the subway or the premium subway/commuter rail combo, which is why I’m now not doing it often. I might after all shut or erase that hole utterly purchase using a type of new electrically-assisted bicycles all people’s speaking about, however I simply can’t deliver myself to do it. I imply, I completely get whereas different folks do it (I bought handed by in all probability lots of of them on Tuesday), and objectively it makes excellent sense. Nevertheless, all of us have our turn-ons and turn-offs relating to how we get round, and if I’m going to journey to work I need to do it on a bicycle that excites me and never an equipment. In any other case I’d reasonably simply take the prepare the place I can learn and never fear concerning the climate.
I’ll additionally admit that e-bikes annoy me. Largely that is simply me being petty, however I do suppose that they combine much more poorly with pedestrians than common bicycles do (folks on common bikes at the very least cease for pedestrians often), and I additionally suppose they combine poorly on bike lanes and paths with common bikes. At occasions, as somebody who rides common bikes completely, I even discover myself considering we must always take away e-bikes from the combo totally, earlier than they take away us, which is the place issues appear to be going. Nevertheless, as I’ve identified earlier than, relating to transportation, at no level within the historical past of humankind have we collectively opted for the slower possibility that requires extra bodily effort. It’s silly to not reconcile ourselves to this, in order a pragmatist I’m not about to affix an anti-e-bike rally or something like that:
Behold, the “majority:”
Granted, the turnout would recommend in any other case:
However one ought to by no means underestimate the facility of a dozen:
Andrew Cuomo definitely isn’t:
Based on the article, e-bikes “brought about 75% of bicycle-related deaths:”
This sound scary till you contemplate that we don’t actually know the full proportion of bicyclists who’re using e-bikes now. E-bikes weren’t even a factor when town began constructing bike lanes in earnest, and now they’re ubiquitous. So after all they may proceed to comprise the next and better proportion of complete bicycle deaths till our old-timey pedal-powered bikes appear as antiquated because the pennyfarthing.
On the similar time, I’m keen to imagine that e-bikes are meaningfully extra harmful, as a result of because the Citi Bike fleet grew to become more and more electrified and quicker, deaths appeared to extend. Right here’s an excerpt from a column I wrote for Outdoors that I’m undecided they ever revealed as a result of they appear to be imploding:
…previous to 2023 Citi Bike deaths had been exceedingly uncommon. Once I reached out to Citi Biki by way of social media, they advised me that the corporate makes a lot of its knowledge public, however what they despatched me doesn’t appear to incorporate data relating to fatalities. Once I adopted as much as ask about deadly crashes, they replied, “We’re unable to offer the figures you’re requesting.”
Nevertheless, as a biking New Yorker who pays shut consideration to information studies of the deaths of different cyclists, I can distinctly recall 5 previous to 2023. The primary Citi Bike dying occurred in 2017, 4 years after this system’s launch in 2013. Furthermore, whereas all these 5 pre-2023 deaths have been tragic, it’s price noting two occurred below extraordinary circumstances: one was among the many victims of the 2017 truck terrorist assault, and one other was in 2021 when the sufferer was using on a motorized vehicle freeway within the early morning hours for unknown causes.
Once more, I need to stress I’m counting on reminiscence and Web analysis right here, but when my numbers are right, that’s 5 Citi Bike deaths throughout a span of 9 years—adopted by 4 deaths in 2023 alone, together with comic Kenny DeForest, who died in an obvious solo e-Citi Bike crash.
So what modified? Properly, Citi Bike journeys have elevated five-fold for the reason that program debuted, which might definitely be an element. Moreover, the rise in ridership was notably steep between 2022 and 2023.
However 2022 was additionally the yr Citi Bike launched the most recent electrical bikes, which reached pedal-assisted speeds of as much as 20mph. As Time Out famous on the launch, “the additional jolt of energy we bought after we peddled [sic] was shocking.” And all 4 of the Citi Bike riders who died in 2023 have been using electrical bicycles.
Once more, perhaps meaningless as a result of deaths elevated together with a rise in ridership, however ridership has been growing steadily for the reason that program started, so perhaps not.
And in New York Metropolis, e-bikes are simply part of the large proliferation of small motorized autos basically. For years now, old school motor scooters (or what Streetsblog likes to name “mopeds”) have been plaguing the bike lanes, however now their riders can lastly use the roadway on the Queensboro Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge:
This may create “a extra accessible and related metropolis whereas sustaining security for all street customers:”
Wait. So in the event you have been using a gas-powered motor scooter, which is principally a bikes and has all the time required registration and a license plate, you weren’t allowed to journey them within the roadway? Actually???
That may’t be proper, can it?
In the meantime, out within the nation, apparently persons are simply using e-bikes into the wilderness and stranding themselves:
She needed to push her bike for 20 miles earlier than she was discovered:
Maybe somebody ought to invent a bicycle with out a battery that may be ridden for 20 miles.
Nah, it’ll by no means catch on.
