Perth and Cambridge top bike commuter ratings - but could they do more?

armb wrote:

Robin omits perhaps the most important factor about Cambridge - its centre, with a mediaeval street plan, is dominated by a University that doesn't allow most students to keep cars, and doesn't have parking spaces for most of its employees (and many local companies employ many graduates who have got used to cycling as students). Neither this, nor the flat terrain, nor the relatively dry weather for the UK, are things that other cities can really learn from.
On the other hand, at times the county council seemed to be actively anti-cycling, and the city council powerless, so Cambridge could learn from elsewhere. There are signs of improvements.

That's a little defeatist - other councils can use parking controls more creatively than they do, and most places in the East of the UK are fairly dry (and flat). Everywhere is unique, and while Cambridge might always be a standout, other places can get much closer to it than they are now. Hackney, for example, has quadrupled cycle commuting in 20 years - it's now more common than car use.

Duncann wrote:

armb wrote:

Neither this, nor the flat terrain, nor the relatively dry weather for the UK, are things that other cities can really learn from.
On the other hand, at times the county council seemed to be actively anti-cycling, and the city council powerless, so Cambridge could learn from elsewhere.

That's a little defeatist - other councils can use parking controls more creatively than they do, and most places in the East of the UK are fairly dry (and flat). Everywhere is unique, and while Cambridge might always be a standout, other places can get much closer to it than they are now. Hackney, for example, has quadrupled cycle commuting in 20 years - it's now more common than car use.

It's not meant to be defeatist. The point is that if, for example, other councils use parking controls more creatively, Cambridge can learn from those other councils, and improve. If Cambridge(shire) actually had the political will as well as the accidents of history, 50% or more is entirely plausible.

armb wrote:

Duncann wrote:

armb wrote:

Neither this, nor the flat terrain, nor the relatively dry weather for the UK, are things that other cities can really learn from.
On the other hand, at times the county council seemed to be actively anti-cycling, and the city council powerless, so Cambridge could learn from elsewhere.

That's a little defeatist - other councils can use parking controls more creatively than they do, and most places in the East of the UK are fairly dry (and flat). Everywhere is unique, and while Cambridge might always be a standout, other places can get much closer to it than they are now. Hackney, for example, has quadrupled cycle commuting in 20 years - it's now more common than car use.

It's not meant to be defeatist. The point is that if, for example, other councils use parking controls more creatively, Cambridge can learn from those other councils, and improve. If Cambridge(shire) actually had the political will as well as the accidents of history, 50% or more is entirely plausible.

Agreed, and I think "political will" is the key point. Maybe not everywhere will ever achieve what Cambridge can without even trying but most places can do much better if they try. They just don't, and the voters don't care (or actively don't want them to). So brains and balls are needed, and they're not restricted to small, flat, dry, medieval university cities.

Im from Cambridge - and Ive lived in Hackney for many years - the increase in cycling probably has a lot more to do with the fixieification / hipsterification / gentrification of the area than anything the council has done...

abudhabiChris wrote:

Not exactly related but on the subject of why people choose transport methods and why there are more cars on roads than there should be...

My son is due to start university in Exeter soon and has to go down for a meeting regarding some support he needs, and my wife will go with him.

She thought she would take the train - nice easy 2.5 hour journey from London, going against the commuter flow so not too crowded.

It would have cost 480 pounds to get them there and back. About the same as a return flight between London and Dubai. And I would bet twice that amount there are empty seats on those trains.

She's driving.

Walk-up peak-time trains can be extortionate, it's true, but it's usually not difficult to avoid those fares. Traveling off-peak could reduce those fares by two-thirds straight away. Booking in advance probably even more so. And your son will be eligible for a Young Person's Railcard, won't he?

lerrup wrote:

And is not a surprise why so few people take the bus in Cambridge either as it's expensive, unreliable and slow. It's quicker for me to walk the two miles to work rather than catch a bus to do so.

As for cyclists getting more priority than buses? That's b*****ks, frankly, the man from stagecoach should realise it's their fault and no one else's.

Stagecoach drivers in Cambridge DGAF about pedestrians or cyclists. Huge double decker buses very frequently swing round from Jesus Lane into narrow Bridge Street with hundreds of people on the pavements trying to get out the way as many Stagecoach bus drivers misjudge the turn and the bus over hangs the narrow pavements. Many a times I have seen groups of unsuspecting people almost crushed and have had to shout at the drivers to stop as STAGECOACH bus drivers DNGAF about road safety. They also tail gate and pull in or out on cyclists. They are flippin' dangerous menace. The horrible back smoke they chuck out is lethal.

pjclinch wrote:

It's worth asking for PH8 on Google Maps. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere

Ah! That probably explains it. It would be easy to achieve a high cycling percentage with a small population. I guess the question is why was it reported or considered in the analysis because it's not of any significance.