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Cycling is ten times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities
(theconversation.com)
this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2024
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Cool, what about those who don't live within biking distance?
My work is 37 km of rural highway from my house. I biked it once years ago, took me 1h45m one way. Not a reasonable option.
Cool. What about all those people who live within 5km of where they need to go, and are generally alone in the car.
Just because it doesn’t apply to you in particular doesn’t mean you can’t support and champion a cause that would help in the grand scheme of things.
The comment I replied to implied that if people in Montreal can do it, why can't I? I was merely addressing the implied accusation.
Besides, if you want a champion the guy making $40k/year isn't it.
The billionaires got a lot of money to spend on transit and infrastructure and densification, but everytime this shit comes up somehow the guy who barely clears the fuckin poverty line is the one who has be a champion.
Why not? Once regular people do environmentally friendly things, we've essentially won, because that means the environmentally friendly things is the most reasonable and cost effective things. As in, we've normalized the desired behavior.
Getting a billionaire to change isn't going to work, that's like trying to push a goat in the direction you want them to go. That hasn't worked in the past, and it's not going to start now.
Focus on where the efforts are most likely to actually have an impact. We should be improving mass transit, pushing cars outside of cities, and encouraging cycling. That will cut road maintenance costs, drastically reduce traffic, and improve the health of the average person. Let billionaires do what they want, let's make cities something people want to live in. That starts by focusing on the guy that makes $40k/year and making sure he can get to work and back efficiently.
If you're still interested in long-distance commuting by bike, an e-bike is worth considering.
You'd likely get to work in "around" an hour with little effort. The cost savings from not having to buy gas for those distances would easily offset the cost of the bike + electricity used for charging.
Yes, biking 37km each way is pretty extreme. However, if you haven't already, I'd suggest questioning whether you should be making some changes in your life. Using rough calculations for a fairly efficient & economical car ($0.25CAD/km for gas, maintenance, and depreciation), your commute is costing you $18.50CAD/day (more if you drive an SUV/Truck)! That means if you could move closer to work so you could bike, you could pay an additional $350/mo in housing and still be ahead. Or, you could look for a new job that pays $4,600/year less net (probably ~$6,500/year gross) and be ahead. And if you could give up your car completely, those numbers could more than double!!
It's possible after reviewing the numbers, you'll conclude that it's not worth it to make any changes in your life, and that's fine! Work in agricultural and other rural industries is important. It's just that so many people aren't even ware how much their 20min commute costs them, let alone what it costs their local government (roads aren't cheap) or the environment in general.
I live with my mom. I cannot afford rent in the town that I work in, and the two other nearby towns require a car just the same as the one I'm in now.
I cannot afford to move. ~~When my mother dies I will likely become homeless.~~
Once again, the problem boils down to the billionaires not paying people enough.
I agree that our capitalist society sucks. Your only choice is work within it or die.
You answered one of the questions and almost certainly
no rent + $350 < rent. You didn’t answer the other question and I see from another comment, you make $40K/year. Where I am in Ontario, that’s not much more than minimum wage ($16.55/h×7.5h/d×251d/year≃$31K/year). I’d highly recommend reviewing whether your pay and job satisfaction is worth what you spend on your commute!No, the commute and car ownership is literally cheaper than paying the extra rent.
My mom only charges me $500/month, last I looked rent for places that aren't even comparable to what I have now were about $1500/month, and my car is costing me about $250/month. That's a difference of $750/month, and my quality of life is way better.
What you're suggesting is completely unreasonable for me.
However I admit that my comment about homelessness is likely wrong on further analysis. But it remains to be seen what happens with the housing market in the intervening years.
I think you misunderstood my comment. I was agreeing with you. If you're staying with family, that's almost certainly financially better than getting your own place. What I was saying is that you didn't answer the second option: What if you got a job closer to home? You don't have to answer it here, but I'd just recommend reviewing it by yourself.
If you make $40K/year, your 37km commute probably costs you ~15% of your net income. Getting a slightly worse paying job within biking distance of your current home could leave more money in your pocket.
I see, I did misunderstand.
Unfortunately being in a small town means there are limited options, and most of them I've used already. Some I could go back to. But really this is about the best I've found.
The real option is to start a business, but I'm enjoying life more than I ever have at the moment, and I don't want to give that up and go back to working all the time. I probably will eventually, because I hate working for people who I think are stupider than I am.
You want me to live in neighboring city with all those twatheads, druggies, richers, shitty schools and terrible drivers? No thank you! - Anyone, anywhere lol.