tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post4986005617462778372..comments2024-03-28T11:13:48.581+00:00Comments on i b i k e l o n d o n: Electric City; smart bikes, smart cities?ibikelondonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06978714126105951294noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-17555878168249552962019-11-26T07:47:30.482+00:002019-11-26T07:47:30.482+00:00For many younger people, particularly urban dwelle...For many younger people, particularly urban dwellers, the car has become something of an irrelevance, with driving licence possession down a third among 17-25 year olds, and an observable "surf wave" effect, as advancing age does not mean transitioning to the habits of your elders, but pushing the age boundaries of your own value out further. Driving is steadily becoming a preoccupation of middle aged and older people, and eventually those older people have to stop because they are simply not safe behind the wheel anymore. Car companies, like Big Tobacco, will no longer be able to rely on recruiting young people to replace the ones who die out.https://www.sztigerwong.comahhhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15765655363402847210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-33065504460691716882013-02-01T08:24:20.748+00:002013-02-01T08:24:20.748+00:00Everything fine except the penalty!..If you don...Everything fine except the penalty!..If you don't return your bike, or you bring it back late or damaged, you may be charged up to £300.Sarah -Editor@theoffice-ukhttp://www.theoffice-uk.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-49265561139679009252012-12-09T15:23:47.121+00:002012-12-09T15:23:47.121+00:00These bikes look interesting. In my opinion, tradi...These bikes look interesting. In my opinion, traditional bikes are still better. One purpose of biking is to give riders the chance to be fit and enjoy the sceneries they'll pass by. But if you have these gadgets on, you'll get distracted and won't have as much fun biking around.Reidhttp://www.reidcycles.com.au/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-63840257826547730512012-12-09T11:44:57.485+00:002012-12-09T11:44:57.485+00:00If your cell network hubs are flooded, you can gen...If your cell network hubs are flooded, you can generate as much power for your phone as you will. You will get no connection.<br /><br />And I don't know, whether the network hubs can be powered by bicycle - or whether the phone company would let you ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-12894851995364464442012-12-08T14:22:19.548+00:002012-12-08T14:22:19.548+00:00Paul your comments is wise, insightful and welcome...Paul your comments is wise, insightful and welcome as ever - you always make such an interesting contrbution to these articles and I really appreciate it. Thank you for taking the time.<br /><br />The issue of young people driving less is a really intersting one and I certainly hope that some academics somewhere are monitoring this emerging trend. I recently saw an advertisement from overseas for a city bus service whereby the buses had been installed with wifi and journeys onboard were being touted as "sharing time" - that is to say an opportunity to game, use social media, catch up on emails or work whilst moving along. Who wants to be stuck in traffic driving with nothing else to do? I believe we will see more and more thinking along these lines, especially as tablet computers become more prevalent. Could wifi connected buses and trains become the biggest competition for bicycles I wonder?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-84454891178466733832012-12-07T23:14:54.967+00:002012-12-07T23:14:54.967+00:00I'm not sure about me, I have little interest ...I'm not sure about me, I have little interest in smartphones or iPads, but I read an article on the on-line version of one of the national newspapers only the other day, reflecting on "peak car" and the impact of the iPad, smartphones and social media on young peoples' attitudes to the car and to transport.<br /><br />The effects are varied but all push in one direction: the ability to communicate with friends via Facebook etc removes some of the need to make a physical journey to meet friends so young people travel less; the ability to work or read or view films and download material in real time makes public transport more attractive for longer journeys, especially business trips - you can't work on your laptop and drive at the same time but you can on the train; on-line shopping has finally taken off - I can remember about 10-12 years ago there was a lot of hype about the online retail revolution, and at the time the hype proved premature, but not now.<br /><br />For many younger people, particularly urban dwellers, the car has become something of an irrelevance, with driving licence possession down a third among 17-25 year olds, and an observable "surf wave" effect, as advancing age does not mean transitioning to the habits of your elders, but pushing the age boundaries of your own value out further. Driving is steadily becoming a preoccupation of middle aged and older people, and eventually those older people have to stop because they are simply not safe behind the wheel anymore. Car companies, like Big Tobacco, will no longer be able to rely on recruiting young people to replace the ones who die out.<br /><br />That doesn't mean of course that everyone is jumping onto bikes. So far, they aren't, relying instead on tube and bus. It also isn't universal - if you live in the countryside then young people are still keen to get their driving licences because often personal freedom still depends on the car in a world without bus services and distances or terrain which discourage cycling. The tyranny of the car and its burden on the disposable incomes of poorer people is not over yet.<br /><br />Once people cotton on to the concept of the e-bike - tax, licence and insurance free provided that the motor is no more than 200 watts, assisted speed limit is 16mph (?) and the motor contributes to, rather than replaces the rider's leg effort - surely many of the geographical barriers of distance or hilliness will fall away.<br /><br />All we need now is somewhere decent to cycle.Paul Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07929808238663838155noreply@blogger.com