Parking Pain

Another benefits of going car-free is parking. Or more precisely - not parking.

In my office building, drivers can either pay to park in the basement, or spend 10 minutes before work scouring the streets for an available spot. The first of those options became even less attractive recently when this email was sent to all employees.


In short, a 50% increase in parking fees. While full time workers now pay $60/week to park in the building, most weeks I pay less than 30 for public transport (for work and personal use). Also I don't pay for petrol, registration, insurance or vehicle maintenance.

Extra morning trains :)

Public transport keeps improving all the time. Now there are two extra morning trains on my train line - arriving in the city at 7:50 and 8:02am.


This means that for most of the morning commuting period, trains are every 6 minutes. This is so convenient. Even if you've just missed one, it's only a few minutes to the next one.

On my line the morning trains arrive now arrive in the city at 7.44, 7.50, 7.56, 8.02, 8.08, 8.14, 8.20, 8.32, 8.44, 8.50 and 8.56.

Earlier than 7.44, they're about every 12 minutes, but i'm not really interested in being at work that early ;) After 9am, they're still every 15 minutes.

I reckon that's quite a good service. But of course, if even more people who use it, it will get even more frequent. :)

When's the next bus?

There's those times when you're thinking "I'm here at ___. I wonder when the next bus/train leaves."

Here's how to solve that problem.


Translink has a page called stops and stations. 1. Go to it. 2. Enter the name of your nearet train station or bus stop. (If you just enter your street name, it will give you a map to choose from). 3. Select the stop/station you're interested in. It will give you a list of upcoming buses/trains from that place.

At home and at work I've bookmarked my regular stops and stations. It's good to know just how much time I've got - so I always show up just at the right time. :)

Overheard on the train

This is what I overheard from 'Samantha' on the train this afternoon:

I ran through a red light last night. I was sooo tired.
Nathan said to me "you just went through a red light"
I said "just-red or red-red"
He said "red-red"
I wasn't worried so much about the camera; whatever. I was endangering people's lives!

This is one of the reasons i like public transport. If i'm tired/exhausted, it's much better to be the passenger rather then behind the wheel (running red lights).

Related link: What causes bad driving

Good Mood Guaranteed

I'd imagine there would be plenty of people jealous of the Germans who came up with this idea.


"A good mood is always guaranteed" claims the Bierbike website. I reckon riding a bike usually brings on a good mood by itself. Perhaps the activity of pedalling, while enjoying a relaxed drink with some friends adds to the joy.

PS. I'm assuming the driver isn't partaking in the beverages ;)

Traffic Tetris

Does driving a car ever feel like this?


I know i've seen it from the outside. Yesterday i was cruising past traffic on my bike - without even pedalling. Gravity and a gentle slope was all it took for me to be gliding by two lanes of stationary cars - backed up from one intersection to the next.

And that was on a Saturday!

Of course the difference with traffic tetris is that filling every available space is not a winning move.

23.5 Hour Challenge

Who would have thought a doctor talking for 9 minutes would get over 3 million views on you tube? But that's what happened withe the 23.5 hour challenge.


According to the video, the best single thing you can do for your health is exercise. But that doesn't mean being a fitness fanatic. It just means keeping your inactive time to less than 23.5 hours per day.

That could be as simple as riding a bike to work or the shops. Or maybe walking to the train station each day. (A friend of mine used to get off the train one stop early to get in some walking after work).

Key Christmas Tip

It was a real surprise to see this post from a good friend of mine - who is a really sweet and intelligent guy.

But in the light of my last post (it's circumstance, not the person) I probably shouldn't be overly surprised.

So here's my Christmas shopping tip: Take Public Transport

At the shopping centre my friend was at, the "perfect park" is probably the one the busses get - about 5 metres from the door.

Another shopping centre near me is actually built on top of the train station. Hard to get more convenient than that.

Sometimes a bike is also helpful (if getting smaller gifts). I used to park 3 metres from the shop entrance and could ride home in less time than it took most shoppers to find a park.

So that's my tip - leave the car keys at home and enjoy the Christmas season!

Why "other drivers" are worse than us

"I can't believe what that maniac driver just did!
How do these people get a licence?"
We've no doubt heard something like that said (maybe with some beeping and finger gestures). We may have said it ourselves.

The psychological term for this is "Fundamental Attribution Error". It's where we (incorrectly) blame an outcome on the people rather than the circumstance. (Unless it's our mistake of course - than there's always another reason)

A driver who is normally good (or at least as good as us) will occasionally do something 'crazy' because of other circumstances - screaming kids in the back seat, tiredness, fatigue, thinking about other things, or running late for work.

What has this got to do with being car free? It's a safety thing. And this is probably a big part of the reason why public transport is enormously safer than driving. If the danger isn't bad drivers - but circumstances - it's about stopping bad circumstances becoming a danger.

If I'm running late for work, i'm not putting anyone at risk, because i'm not driving the train. If I'm exhausted at the end of a long work week, the biggest danger is me missing my train station after an accidental nap. (That hasn't happened yet). It would be inconvenient, but it's better than a collision with another vehicle.
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* The picture is of Switch - the book where i read about the concept of Fundamtental Attribution Error

DIY Electric

You know electric bikes are cool when people are constructing DIY versions.

I spotted this outside a local train station. Looks like the battery is attached to the seat post, with cables running down to a motor in the front wheel.