Space Invaders (cars)

Nobody likes being stuck in traffic. But there's a simple solution.

In the 80s video game Space Invaders the invaders were from space. Today's space invaders are invaders of space.

Next time you're in traffic, try to count 50 cars in front of you. If you're on a 3-lane road try to count 17 cars in front.

In most situations it's further than you can see. But that's how much traffic could be removed with just one bus.

My local public transport agency gives out these stickers to illustrate the point.

Even though there's not even 50 cars on the picture, is still demonstrates how obvious the solution to traffic is.

Faster than 300 cars

My wife and I left the game on our bikes. There are only two roads out of the South Pine Sports Complex and this was probably the biggest game ever held there.

Traffic to go home was at a standstill. The start of the dotted blue line is where we decided that wasn't for us. Part of the joy of being car free is never having to be in traffic jams. So we went on the grass path. It later became a concrete path, then a bikelane.

I reckon we passed 300 cars. Sometimes they moved slower than walking-pace. Mostly they didn't move at all.

At the red marker the queue meets a major road and each cycle the traffic lights allow about seven cars through.

So if we did pass 300 cars, the ones at the back of the queue would have waited for 43 cycles of traffic lights.

By this time, my wife and I had cycled to the train station and were most of the way home.

Sometimes people ask if I miss the "convenience" of a car.
Not if "convenience" means waiting for 43 cycles of the traffic lights.

PS. The map above shows the travel time assuming you are walking. This traffic was going much slower than walking pace, so I reckon the time was more like 40 minutes to 1 hour for that 1.7km.

Congestion-busting

The council in my city is trying to reduce traffic congestion. In their latest newsletter to residents they boasted of the results over the last six months.

The morning peak average speed increased from 27.8 km/h to 28.9 km/h.

Whoop-de-do! For a 10 km commute, that means a daily saving of 49 seconds on a 22-minute journey. Barely noticeable.

Meanwhile I can go 25 km/h on my bicycle and fitter people go quicker than that. Hardly seems worth having a car, really.

Here's a congestion-busting idea. Leave the car at home. Often a bicycle is quicker (and more enjoyable). Or catch public transport and free up the roads for everyone.

Love cars, love traffic jams

Sure I've shown a picture like this before, but this one's different.

It's the first one I've seen that includes bicycles, buses and light rail.

Surely it's obvious to everyone that unless traffic jams are something we enjoy, then bicycles and public transport are by far the best options.

The poor woman

I've certainly felt like this at times. The smug pedestrian (or bike rider) cruising past a traffic jam.

Thursdays in my neighbourhood are particularly bad for drivers. Our city has late night shopping on Thursdays, so commuter traffic and shopping traffic add together.

In a logical world some of the regular drivers would work this out and take public transport on a Thursday - or ride or walk if it's a short distance. But people tend to stick to habits even if it means sitting in traffic for much longer than other forms of transport would take.

Of course the poor woman in the cartoon is also doing for for her physical and mental health.

Damn, these electric bikes (are great)

The topic of electric bikes came up at work today. One colleague mentioned how jealous she is of electric bikes as they pass her on the uphills.

I think this cartoon sums it up well. The rider of the electric bike is thinking "Damn, these electric bikes (are great)" while the other rider thinks "Damn these electric bikes (are making me jealous)."

The Secret of Happiness

I've just read an article on Enrique Peñalosa, the former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia. "We might not be able to fix the economy. But we can design the city to give people dignity, to make them feel rich. The city can make them happier."

One experiment was to have a day of a total car ban. The 'car free' day was the first day in 4 years that nobody was killed in traffic. Hospital admissions were down, smog thinned, and people were feeling more optimistic about life. All from just one day without cars.

Why does better city design, and fewer cars, give such a boost to our happiness? The article had some stats on that - and it seems that we've over-valued the role of money in happiness.

• The British got 40% richer from 1993 to 2012, but the rate of psychiatric disorders and neuroses grew.
• Londoners are among the least happy people in the UK, despite the city being the richest region in the UK.
• The more connected we are, the less likely we are to experience heart attacks, strokes, cancer and depression. Connected people sleep better at night. They live longer. They consistently report being happier.
• People who endure more than a 45-minute commute were 40% more likely to divorce.
• People who live in car‑dependent neighbourhoods are much less trusting of other people.
• Longer commutes mean lower life-satisfaction. A person with a one-hour commute has to be paid 40% more money to be as satisfied with life as someone who walks to the office. For a single person, exchanging a long commute for a short walk to work has the same effect on happiness as finding a new love.

So why is driving so bad? So bad that being freed from it is the equivalent of falling in love - or getting a 40% pay rise?

"Driving in traffic is harrowing for both brain and body. The blood of people who drive in cities is a stew of stress hormones. The worse the traffic, the more your system is flooded with adrenaline and cortisol, the fight-or-flight juices that, in the short-term, get your heart pumping faster, dilate your air passages and help sharpen your alertness, but in the long-term can make you ill. Brain researchers found that peak-hour travellers suffered worse stress than fighter pilots or riot police facing mobs of angry protesters."

Apparently, it's the mobility of walking, running or riding that makes commuting enjoyable.

"We were born to move. Immobility is to the human body what rust is to the classic car. Stop moving long enough, and your muscles will atrophy. Bones will weaken. Blood will clot. You will find it harder to concentrate and solve problems. Immobility is not merely a state closer to death: it hastens it."

Cyclists report feeling "connected to the world around them" in a way that's not possible in a sealed vehicle. Their journeys are "sensual and kinesthetic".

So how did Bogotá's experiment go?

It made life better for almost everyone. Commuting times fell by a fifth. The streets were calmer. The accident rate halved, as did the murder rate, even as the country as a whole got more violent. There was better air quality. Bogotáns got healthier. The city experienced a spike in feelings of optimism. People believed that life was good and getting better.

To find out more, read the article, or get the book it comes from - "Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design" by Charles Montgomery.

More Road Space

One of the great things about riding a bike, and about public transport is how little space it takes. Especially compared to cars.

Smarter transport frees up so much space on the roads. Groups have taken some stunning photos to illustrate just how much extra space there could be on the roads.

There's also the famous photo of the space to transport 60 people, and this animation of the space saved by a bus.


But one of the pictures I find the most compelling is this one from an international study. Building roads is such a wasteful way to transport a lot of people.

Master of Transport

This week I attended a friend's graduation. A few of us came to see it, and her partner arrived just in the nick of time. He'd driven in, and had a nerve-wracking time doing so.

Having got to campus, there was 20 minutes of driving around, to find a place to park. Then the ticket machine (yes it was paid parking) wasn't working. Once he'd sorted that out, it was another 20 minutes navigating an unfamiliar campus to find the graduation ceremony. All in all, it was a frustrating and exhausting experience in the heat of a Brisbane summer.

I have to admit I felt a bit smug that I'd zoomed in on my electric bike (total travel time about 10-15 mins), and parked in the bicycle rack about 1 minute's walk from all the graduation action. But I didn't gloat - that would have only made it feel worse.

Of course, he didn't have the option to ride (apart from CityCycle) but there's also a bus that goes from the street of his workplace to the university in 12 minutes.

I'm not sure why we seem to think that car is a fast and convenient option. Perhaps the graduates at the Psychology graduation would have a better idea.

I have two guesses. For many people it's the default, and our brains like to avoid decision-making so the default wins. Also, at the decision point (the journey start) the car seems convenient because in one minute you can be on your way. But the trouble comes later. Just like "buy now pay later", which seems like a good idea .. until "pay later" comes along.

What bike riders don't say

This gave me a chuckle. I've often thought (and blogged) about how convenient parking is when you ride a bike somewhere.

Biking to Work

I participated in Ride to Work day this year. One of the joys of riding during peak times is not being caught in the traffic. There's something freeing about cruising along, in a bike lane or path. Even at my not-so fast riding pace, I was easily passing the stop-start vehicle traffic.

I felt a bit like the rider in this video, but looking even less like a pro-rider. ;)


Related post: Ride to work day 2012

First Glimpse - G:link tram

Here it is. The first of the new light-rail trams for the Gold Coast's new G:Link has arrived for a trial run. It's 43m long, and can carry more than 300 people.

The service starts in mid 2014 with a route of 16 stations from the University Hospital, through Surfers Paradise and down to Broadbeach. End-to-end will take just 37 minutes, and high-frequency services will be available from 5am to midnight.

PS. I'm a previous Gold Coast resident, so it's exciting to see more public transport options in that area.

Best I've seen

"This is the best mass transit I've ever seen"

...said an American on my train this afternoon. He was particularly talking about the way the different transit modes interact with each other.

Even though we can see room for improvement, it's reassuring when overseas visitors realise how good our system is now.

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. :)

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.

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!

$10 Servicing

On a continuing theme of low cost maintenance, the other week i felt that my bike brakes were wearing a bit thin. At my local bike shop, a brand new set costs just under $10 - and i can fit them myself.

Benefits of Riding to Work

This was part of my email invite to join Ride to Work day. It summarises some of the reasons i like going car free.

By the way, if you're interested, Ride to Work day this year is Wednesday 17 October.

Birthday Express

This week i enjoyed a friend's birthday dinner. I also enjoyed the trip there. For a 19km journey (including through the city in peak hour) it took just 26 minutes on the express train. Friends (including the guest of honour) spent as long as that stuck in traffic.

For the record it also results in about 1/9th of the greenhouse emissions according to the Queensland Rail Emissions Calculator.