With bike commuters on the rise I am not sure why drivers are still griping at folks like me. Just the other day I had one of those wonderful conversations with a motorists at an intersection. Clearly, we were just going to have to agree to disagree. During the rest of my commute I realized that motorist should be extremely thankful for my daily bike commuting. I realized I have achieved the following for this driver:
- One less car on the road
- One more parking spot freed up
- One less car on our congested freeways
- One less garage built
- One less car at line in the gas station
- One less car polluting the city
- One less car to get into an accident with
- One less car for wear and tear on the streets
- A shorter commute for all
Yes, I realized that motorists should be on our side. As transit mode shifts and the numbers of bike commuter rises that is a huge win win for everybody. The more I thought about it, it is even a bigger win for motorists. If we can achieve high numbers of ridership, just think of how many cars will be taken off the road. This USA Today article had this to say:
Bare is one growing number of people turning to bicycles for transportation. According to the most recent U.S. Census figures, the number of adults who bicycled to work in 2008 was 786,098, up 26% from 2006. That number continues to grow, says Wiley Norvell, spokesman for the New York City-based Transportation Alternatives advocacy group.
I think one less car should really be for the cagers, since they all have more to gain then I do.
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