In article et, "Robert
Haston" wrote:

I agree about buying a bike license for education purposes, and because it
would be cheap and a good symbolic gesture.

But the real problem is thousands a year per auto in subsidies. These are
definitely punitive to cyclists as they directly threaten our lives by
raising the amount of heavy machinery we must operate amongst.

Removing subsidies would save most drivers, as once the true costs were up
front, they would seek alternatives to reduce driving. For example, a
driver figures he can save $1000 a year in subsidies if he carpools. He
then saves $2000 a year in auto costs.

This would apply across the board. With more people using mass transit,
transit subsidies can be reduced.

How do you figure that? Because they can make more money from passengers
than in subsidies? I would hope so, but...

With more and more people using fewer vehicles (especially during rush hour)
the demand for more road space stops. Money going towards more roads goes
towards stopping our growing "roads and bridges debt" - trillions in
maintenance delayed.

It'd be nice...if it turned out to be true.

Imagine combining cycling, car pooling, telecommuting, car sharing
(neighborhood rental) and transit hubs. You ride your bike to the transit
hub (convenience store, coffee house, newspaper stand, gym, day care, etc.)
then four of your co-workers pull up in a mini van. You log into your job
and start making money while commuting. You once spent 8 hours a week
driving to work, plus 8 hours working to drive. Now the money you once paid
in subsidies pays for the few thousand miles a year you now drive. After
coming home, you want to go out. The same vehicles people used for
carpooling are at the transit hub and other neighborhood locations. For 40
cents a mile and a dollar an hour, you can rent whatever you want.

Some of this sounds great, but some of it will never happen. For example,
not everyone can, or wants to, telecommute. It would be nice if more
people who wanted to could, though.

But the biggest mental block you are going to have is in persuading
America, a country of individualists, to give up driving to work in its
own private car and taking a minivan with three coworkers it may not even
like. In a big city where a lot of people do it more or less by necessity
and culture, yes. In smaller cities and towns, no way. You will take away
their right to drive their own cars to work when you pry their cold dead
hands off the wheel.
--
Trudi

"Boy, there sure is a lot of tension around here tonight. It's like a Joan Crawford movie."