Families switch cars for cargo bikes for daily commute as cost of living continues to bite
www.abc.net.au
Since getting a bike over a year ago, Alice Humble and her family have saved $800 in petrol. They're one of many households choosing cycling as car running costs increase.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/13929272

So, what’s the take away here ? make it so expensive to live people choose cycling and we get better cities ?

  • Ilandar@aussie.zoneEnglish
    15·
    2 months ago

    Cycling infrastructure development in Adelaide and SA always seems to be based around tourism and leisure. Like if you want to do a family day trip, or you’re here on a cycling holiday or just want to spend your day somewhere there are quite a few good cycling paths that all connect up with minimal need to cross or ride on roads. But the daily cycling infrastructure is absolutely terrible. Most “bike lanes” on suburban roads are narrow, damaged and filled with rubbish and many motorists do not respect them at all. Thankfully we are allowed to ride on the footpaths so that reduces the danger somewhat but it’s also pretty inconvenient since footpaths are even less consistent in terms of terrain.

    • AllNewTypeFaceEnglish
      7·
      2 months ago

      Isn’t Australia still a country where bikes are sold as sporting goods alongside cricket bats and gym mats, rather than as practical devices one would use in everyday life?

      • Aussieiuszko@aussie.zoneEnglish
        3·
        2 months ago

        Because they’re not practical devices one can use in everyday life here? If you can’t safely travel with it, it’s not a practical means of transport.

        • Nath@aussie.zoneEnglish
          3·
          2 months ago

          I disagree. I ride 10-12km to work and 10-12 km home practically daily. Because I understand people lie on the Internet all the time, here are my Strava cycling stats to show I’m telling the truth:

          I cycled daily when I lived in Queensland. I cycled less often (because I’m a wuss about riding in the rain) but still regularly when I lived in Melbourne. And I cycle almost every day in Perth. The last four weeks actually really low for me - between the wet weather and having a holiday in September, my numbers are down. It would usually be 10 rides per week.

          To answer @[email protected]’s question: You can often buy bikes next to the sporting equipment in some stores (cycling is a sport, after all). These are terrible though, and people who really use their bikes get them at dedicated bike stores - which are very common in Australia.

        • AllNewTypeFaceEnglish
          1·
          2 months ago

          There is no reason why they shouldn’t be, other than a car-is-king mindset stemming from a rusted-on bootleg version of the American Dream imported in the Menzies era. Physics and geography work the same in Australia as in Denmark and the Netherlands, and there is enough urban density, at least in the Victorian-era cores of cities, to make cycling as transport viable.

      • Ilandar@aussie.zoneEnglish
        2·
        2 months ago

        I don’t know about the rest of Australia, but that’s not really the case in Adelaide. There is a pretty strong cycling culture here and a lot of proper bike stores for commuters, road cyclists and mountain bikers. Hosting the Tour Down Under for 25 years has really helped with that. But for whatever reason the government has never really invested in infrastructure that would help.daily commuters.