Chapter 2 NO EXCUSES, BIKE TO WORK
When cities require rapid response policing, cars will be sent, but police on bikes will get to the incident first.
the Cross-Bronx Expressway in New York, cars average 9 mph. Satnav maker TomTom has a system called IQ Routes which “puts the driving experience of millions of TomTom users into your maps, calculating your route based on actual speeds driven on roads compared to speed limits…As a result, TomTom now has a huge database, containing billions of miles of real customer driving experience, collected over the years from more than 7 million TomTom users.” The TomTom website says: “We all know traffic is different during a Monday morning rush hour from a lazy Sunday afternoon. We all want the best shortcuts to bring us to our destination in the fastest way possible. But heavy traffic, speed bumps, traffic lights, roundabouts and even schoolchildren [our emphasis] or shopping crowds can slow you down.” The TomTom website uses an example of a London route, 9.2kms, from Commercial Road to Gloucester Terrace. Even at “a relatively quiet time, and without any hold-ups” this short trip will take a motorist 20 minutes. That’s an average speed of just 17mph. Remember, that’s without hold-ups and outside of rush hours. Using actual data from thousands of TomTom users in London, the IQ Routes database ignores the shortest route and takes motorists on a longer but quicker route. The 10.2km journey is estimated to take 26 minutes. Add in a couple of minutes to account for less than optimum traffic light changes and that’s an average speed of 13mph. And a motorist travelling the TomTom route would also be paying the £8 London congestion charge. Not factored into the TomTom equation is the time taken to find a parking space at the end of the journey. However, TomTom is pleased that it can save you three minutes over other satnav routers: “3 minutes may not sound much, but it’s over 10% off your journey time. Just consider for a moment how much time that will save you over a whole year… Exactly!” An average cyclist on a standard bike, wearing a suit, can travel in London at 15mph easily, with no congestion charge fee, no downtime to find a parking space. So, go by bike. Just consider for a moment how much time that will save you over a whole year... Exactly!
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