Why bike lanes don't make traffic worse | It's Complicated

[@wohlhabendermanager]

I think it's funny when car drivers, who take up most of the space on our roads, complain that cyclists or pedestrians "take up too much road space".

[@Moshimulations]

Thinking about getting a sweater with a Statistic on Road Fatalities and what kills the most people. Then maybe people will have a second thought lol.

[@delftfietser]

Both cars and bicycles with their particular infrastructure take up space. The trick is make sure that the car and bike aren't trying to be in the same space at the same time. How to make that happen, it depends. Yield and stay out of my way for I am fragile but go the distance, says the bicycle. Yield and stay out of my way, for I am strong and move quickly, says the automobile. It isn't always that the stronger transport form must give priority to the weaker. Sometimes the weaker one needs to stay out of the way. The car and the bike are not equal forms, but their operators are certainly of equal human worth. However, no one likes being ruled over or of lesser status, and so there's conflict.

[@nicokelly6453]

@@delftfietser The solution to that is protected bike lines rather than just paint. The other thing to remember is how many people can travel in that space. More people on bikes can travel in a smaller space than drivers can, because cars take up a lot of space. 50 cars carrying one person each takes up way more space than 50 bikes. So even just in terms of how to transport as many people as possible, bike lanes are a way better investment than road expansion for cars.

[@user-wq6de6jb2i]

Or how drivers are always furious when they "have to pay for a new bike lane!!!1" when it's actually all the non-drivers subsidizing the highways, the public car storage, the vehicular assaults, the just-one-more-lane-bro.

[@rientsdijkstra4266]

@@nicokelly6453 That helps, but what helps even more is that motorists are aware of what it means to be a cyclist, and also that they are just accustomed to the fact that there will be bikes on the road. Both are effects that you will see when more and more people bike, like in the Netherlands. Because practically everybody bikes now and then, all motorists are aware of the bikes and also understand the dynamics of being a bicyclist...

[@jeroenlasure8338]

The induced demand principle also applies to cycling and walking infrastructure. The better the cycle lanes are the more people use them, and they use a lot less space on the road per person than cars do hence opening up space and easing congestion.

[@IntensiverPinguin]

It also works with railways

[@JimCullen]

Not just the better the bike lane though-it's important that the cycle _network_ as a whole be improved. Lots of high-quality but _disconnected_ bikeways are less likely to be used than a well-connected network that allows people to ride their whole journey on bikeways.

[@stephenlee5929]

@@JimCullen It also helps if the infrastructure is compatible, Using a Bike that can't be (Safely/securely) parked is a problem. Not being able to take bike on trains, is also a problem. Not being able to use much more compact E- scooter or E - board ae problems, E - bikes can also help

[@JiminyClarkson]

That hasn't seemed to be the case in Hull though

[@johnny_eth]

And separate quality bike lanes and pedestrian areas are safe for children, the disabled and the elderly to use.

[@Marsk1tty]

Bike lanes with no physical barrier from the road are useless in the winter! Separated bike lanes are amazing and make our cities better. I find that on a bike I'm much more likely to try a new small restaurant or store but in my car I'm usually traveling too fast to make a decision, plus it's way easier to turn around on my bike.

[@codex4046]

No, bike lanes that are not maintained properly are useless in the winter. If your city dumps snow on the bike lanes that's because your city is doing a bad job. The bike lanes not being seperated should make it easier for the city to maintain the cycle lanes in the winter.

[@Marenqo]

Why not bike in the winter? They do it in the Netherlands?

[@MartinDeHill]

@@Marenqo yeah, and we have a lot of separated bike lanes

[@gustavsantos6225]

in some year you might not have to worry about winter

[@MartinDeHill]

@@gustavsantos6225 we kind of already don't... We get at most a week of snow a year

[@veggieboyultimate]

Those articles blaming bicycle lanes don’t know what they’re talking about.

[@JohnDoe-tx8lq]

"Bike lanes make traffic worse" is like saying "Building Hospitals means there's less space for building Homes!" We don't want MORE TRAFFIC, we want BETTER, SAFER ways to TRAVEL, with more realistic choices for people to get to where they need to be. Big difference! Transport, travel & access isn't just about cramming more cars & lorries into the same space.

[@blitzn00dle50]

people who say "bike lanes make traffic worse" must think that cars and bikes just spawn like minecraft mobs

[@josephmarsh8235]

Don't forget, drivers park on bike lanes! What do you do then?

[@DropdudeJohn]

If you were building the hospitals on existing houses then that comment would make sense, this isn't about new builds its about existing space already being used and cyclists are still the very small minority as for most people its not a viable option and they all disappear on rainy days

[@DropdudeJohn]

@UCS_QomCsmxf0782Olzlw59A No but you are trying to compare just that with cycle lanes being put on already existing roads, I'm sorry for you that I had to explain that

[@JohnDoe-tx8lq]

@@DropdudeJohn Like I said, new Hospitals in cities aren't often built on empty wasteland. If you believe that... erm, ok! 😆

[@sanderdeboer6034]

Understand that the Netherlands was left out, because it gets a bit boring to see it in almost every video like this. However the fact it is mentioned so often obviously has a reason. Waze (navigation app) has chosen the Netherlands several times as the best place for CAR drivers in the world. Which sounds a bit crazy considering that the Netherlands is famous for its cycle infrastructure. But this is the evidence that supports the title of this video. What I feel is a real difference is the fact that people in the Netherlands even if they own a car, still use bikes as an alternative. And there are experts that say that the Netherlands will be one of the first OECD countries where car ownership will largely be replaced by car sharing. This can already be seen in the bigger cities, but also in new build areas where parking is reduced to almost zero. And the neighborhood shares a car park full of different vehicles to share.

[@hadorstapa]

The Netherlands is my favourite country for driving in. The design and thinking behind the road, cycle, and public transport networks makes every one of those options better.

[@acceleratedsloth]

The Netherlands has great infrastructure for everyone including cars.

[@joebloggs2473]

I entirely agree with you. I worked 30 years helping to design Dutch infrastructure. When I see the result as in the whole family cycling safely without helmets a certain pride does rise. It is one thing we did get right thanks to those parents back in the 70's demanding safer roads. I think that few outside the country actually understand our achievement. As in so many things we did not make a mess of things. Yep these days we are often ignored I wonder why? Jealousy?

[@fenderOCG]

agreed. People massively overestimate average driving speeds in car dependent cities. I jog to work and am faster over the 4km than cars during peak hour. That's 11-12kph.

[@InternetKilledTV21]

@@joebloggs2473 Thank you for your service 🫡

[@realityblooms]

“ Yeah but this cyclist didn’t stop at a stop sign, so all cyclists are bad.” I wonder why the same logic is never apply to drivers. You’ll never blame a driver for the thousands and thousands of deaths every single year from cars. The man of accidents caused by bike never come anywhere near that.

[@ironboy3245]

helps that the mass from a bike is like 2% that of a car's F=MA

[@abellseaman4114]

It would be AMUSING to replay the videos of HUGE NUMBERS OF CYCLISTS RUNNING STOP SIGNS IN AND AROUND TORONTO HIGH PARK!!!!!!!!!!! The arguments about whether or not cops should be ENFORCING THE STOP SIGN LAW in and around the park - in order to LIMIT the number of pedestrians getting clipped by racing cyclists is a truly weird example of LIE-beral logic and cycle lobbyist INSANITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@sgtvoro]

@@ironboy3245 Force equals torque times area? 🤔

[@ironboy3245]

@@sgtvoro what no? Force equals mass x acceleration

[@sgtvoro]

@@ironboy3245 Just messin' with you over the capital letters. 😄

[@SomeoneBeginingWithI]

Increasing cycle lanes makes cycling easier and safer. This isn't just about making things inconvenient for drivers. When cycling is safer, more people will choose to cycle because they actually want to cycle, but chose not to before because they didn't feel safe. Similarly for public transport, when the public transport is more frequent, reliable, and at an affordable price, more people will choose to use it. I think we should focus less on trying to discourage driving, and more on making sure people have realistic alternatives to driving.

[@mjyt100]

Like improving public transport? Bus Lanes have been removed for cycle lanes. Shocking!

[@SomeoneBeginingWithI]

@@mjyt100 In which city? Maybe some cities are doing that, and if they are I think that is a bad decision. In my city they are adding both cycle lanes and bus lanes at the same time.

[@Rikimkigsck]

My work is 10 miles from my house and I can easily use my ebike to get there, which I enjoy even more.

[@scooptm]

@@mjyt100 realistically, building tramlines that share their space with bus only lanes with protected bike lanes on the sides of the road would be ideal

[@cube_cup]

An important note that was implied but is worth stating: those cyclists often used to be car users. This initiative frees up the road for car users who actually need or want to use the car, rather than feel they have to.

[@enonbusiness8156]

Indeed! I am a cyclist and was a driver. I gave up driving after being mowed by a lorry on the motorway on my way to the hospital to work. Ironically I did get to that hospital albeit in the wrong department. Now I take the train and cycle from the station.

[@shieldgenerator7]

@@enonbusiness8156 "mowed"? does that mean they ran you off the road by aggressively changing lanes?

[@DarylBaines]

The real key is well priced public transport. I moved to Sheffield in the 1980s, when South Yorkshire Transport had a heavily subsidised cheap fares policy: you could go pretty much anywhere in the country for a nominal amount of money. Consequently, everyone used the buses, the streets were empty of private vehicles any the buses moved quickly and efficiently. Come privatization in the early 90s, and the bus prices went up by more than 1000%! Bus usage fell and the roads became clogged with traffic.

[@sanderdeboer6034]

Agreed, however it should not become to cheap or even free. Because that would make people walk and cycle less.

[@da14a49]

The fall of Sheffield's buses has been too real...

[@blanco7726]

@@sanderdeboer6034 its free in Luxembourg, we still walk to our bus stops

[@eetutiiro4808]

subsidies are not to blame I love buses but drivers still should not pay for any of the bus service. As a continuation roads should not be paid by income taxes, they should be provided by tolls. imo user pays

[@sanderdeboer6034]

@@blanco7726 I know, been to Luxembourg many times. But I still feel public transport should have a fee. Otherwise many people that now walk or cycle will take the bus. Thsi is bad for health, and will cause extra strain on the public transport system that also neede to be paid. A minimum fee makes the incentive to walk/cycle greater.

[@altriish6683]

I also wish that videos like this would make the obvious point that begs addressing: roads are for transporting people, not just cars. Every city wants to find the best way to move people around, and that's going to look different in each city. But "roads are for cars" is a silly, thoughtless reaction that many people seem to have. The goal is moving people, not just cars.

[@TheUltimateBlooper]

"Roads are for cars" people have never thought more than surface-deep, nor ever thought "why do we have roads in super old cities?"...

[@tyren818]

One important point I think this video forgot to make is that, cars are incredibly inefficient when it comes to moving people. Cars are way too big, take too much, can carry 6 people but usually carry just one and that is the main reason why we should be encourgaing alternative modes of transport and discouraging car use, it's better for everyone. People that actually need to use cars will face less traffic. It's better for everyone except auto companies. Literally!

[@betula2137]

Such a win-win, so obvious too (once researched).

[@tyren818]

@@betula2137 yes there's reason netherlands the country with the most alternative mode of transport infrastructure inplace is also the consistently rated every year as the best country for drivers.

[@betula2137]

@@tyren818 100%. If only there were some way to spring action in other countries.

[@tyren818]

@@betula2137 There is, spread the word, in the past 1-2 years, urban planning channels have blown up. So I think a lot of people are learning on the subject.

[@blanco7726]

@@tyren818 youtube isnt real life

[@franzderpinand2715]

Can we just appreciate how annoying and idiotic these 'anti cycle lane' people are.

[@stephenlee5929]

No they(we) are badly informed. Also badly designed cycling infrastructure is worse than none.

[@salentino]

@@stephenlee5929 as a cyclist I would much rather chose a bad designed but safe bike lane, instead of using the street and getting endangered by motor vehicles

[@stephenlee5929]

@@salentino Hi, My point is that badly designed cycle lanes are often not safe. Just painting the area nearest the kerb with a white line (and bike motif) and yet still having parked cars there doesn't make it safe. A cycle lane that covers 75% of your journey may not make it safe. A suggested route for cyclists, which requires you to continue on a road that has a cycle lane, but it stops 400 yards short of the junction, where you need to turn right onto narrow residential roads which double or triple the distance travelled and brings you into conflict with residential parking and traffic (see Hull) is not safe or useful.

[@TheoDaJunk]

@@salentino yeah I remember when a driver almost knocked me over...but all the other lanes were free. Better have a bad designed bike lane that better ensures car don't go on

[@salentino]

@@stephenlee5929 thank you for elaborating :)

[@jaridkeen123]

If you wouldn't let a 5 year old ride alone on the bike lane then its not safe and shouldn't be called a bike lane

[@benobaars]

Exactly, it should be called painted bicycle gutter.

[@jebbo-c1l]

bike lanes make traffic better. Most car trips in towns and cities are short ones that could otherwise easily be done by bike if infrastructure existed. By building bike lanes you're giving people that freedom and reducing traffic for those that absolutely need to drive

[@Feten56709]

Yea, makes the air quality better and encourage people to do healthy things, the problem is the lack of infrastructure available for both bikes resulting in the usage of more vehicle such as motorcycle and cars, and also laziness.

[@JJONNYREPP]

Why bike lanes don't make traffic worse | It's Complicated 0923am 19.5.22 i dont cycle anymore so it matters not.... it's a middle class concern... which is a shame. night mare on elmstreet's worth watching, though...

[@JUDALATION]

you don't need a bike lane to ride a bike... utter insanity...in NYC nobody rides bikes in winter... thats6 months...

[@Feten56709]

@@JUDALATION yes that is true, but the lack of any lanes will make biking much more difficult and will be hindering the traffict even more, also prevent death (since there's already 2 fatal incident involving bike in the last 3-4 year on the street near my house)

[@Martin-on2pp]

@@JUDALATION When is winter a problem. I keep cycling in winter. Yes, -10 celcius and snow is problem. But otherwise not.

[@VirtualVisitor999]

I moved to the UK in 1985, and started riding cycles after I moved to Wimbledon area in 1992. In 25 years of riding around Memphis, Boston and DC, I never had a scare or attack. Now in London/Morden area, I have a bad scare ONCE A WEEK. Too many London drivers are SICK. This is obscene. The whole attitude is wrong "this is my car place, fck you" by drivers far too often. The police should prosecute ALL DRIVERS who hit a bicycle. There is no excuse. I was targetted and run over on my bike August 2016, ON PURPOSE. The vandals actually slowed down to crash into me, knock me off the bike and onto the (red lane, no cars) road service, and then stopped long enough to lean out and squirted me with salad cream (!!) while I lay on the ground with broken wrist and ribs, then drove off running a red light. Eight witnesses in broad daylight.... Two days in hospital. It took the police 6 months to catch the two men in the van, and it turned out he had probably attacked 3 others in the previous year, one in hospital for 6 months. The man was NOT prosecuted! My right wrist doesn’t work right anymore, and it was hard for me to walk at all. Spine damage and torn ligaments in hip. Walking was quite painful for 4 years. Much better now, but still limited walking.

[@davidty2006]

drivers are getting worse.....

[@PedroConejo1939]

Sorry for your experience. I had a glass bottle thrown at me from a moving van. By the level of pain on impact, I thought it had broken a rib but thankfully it hadn't. If it had hit my head, I wouldn't be writing this today. Driver and passenger never caught - no-one stopped to help either. There is no doubt in my mind that the anti-cycle (ie. WAR) invective from certain media outlets, the Daily Mail being just one, contributes to actual physical injuries suffered by cyclists at the hands of a minority of deranged motorists. If the same level of language was aimed at a different group, say, older people, there would be an outcry and prosecutions galore.

[@genericallynamed1]

Out of curiosity what areas of cities like DC, Boston, and Memphis did you ride in? Even today there is very little high-quality infrastructure for cyclists, and a lot of investment in things like protected lanes and cycle tracks only came recently. Did you just feel that drivers and others were more tolerant of you in these cities, or did you find that road layouts and design made it so that you simply didn't come into conflict as much?

[@sleepyrasta420]

That's why you should always be prepared i have a chain and padlock for locking up my bike which I have easy access to in my bag incase i need it for other purposes so i can grab it if needed. It's a dangerous place for cyclists between A hole car and van drivers, junkies after your bike and rabid dogs off the lead.

[@CanItAlready]

@@sleepyrasta420 Doesn't sound like a chain would have been useful in the OP's situation.

[@wilsistermans1118]

This video is very, very car centric! Cycling is a great way for transport small distances. For distances up to 5 km (7 km on an e-bike) the bicycle should be the preferred way of transport. Fit people can even do the double distance. For short rides cycling is often faster. If people stop doing these short rides by car, the congestion on the road will be a lot less, even compared to before the cycle lanes where installed. Cycle lanes and especially intersections can handle a lot more people than car-lanes and a two-way cycle path takes less space as a one-way car-lane. So it is not the bike-lanes causing more congestion, it is to few people make use of the bike-lanes. People complaining about the congestion should try those bike-lanes. Cycling is healthier, less polluting and often quicker.

[@henryangus6934]

By habit, I was a driver, regardless of distance. Now I’m slowly converted to transit and cycling on short to medium trips, even when I have a car to my disposal. Where an efficient transit system is available, short and medium trips is most efficient unless you have a lot to carry. Even longer trip can be done with a combination of car, transit and bikes (or nowadays micro mobility devices like scooters).

[@henryangus6934]

In North America though, I think cars give the driver a sense of power and control, apart from the need to drive arising from suburban living.

[@bobarmour5619]

It's people-centric, surely. Isn't the point of bike lanes to move away from the car-centric mindset that we currently have?

[@AdrianColley]

This says more about editorial standards at the Evening Standard, Daily Mail, Daily Express and the Sun; than it does about the wisdom of urban bike lanes.

[@TheoDaJunk]

Thinn we should start cancelling news channels

[@GerLeahy]

I came here for this comment

[@bobarmour5619]

Those editorial standards are so low, because the are pandering to their readership - it's not called the gutter press for no reason.

[@michaelstratton5223]

We have 8 lane highways in America that are like oceans of asphalt. If space reduced conjestion, those highways should never get traffic jams. But guess what, they do. All. The. Time. Meanwhile, Germany has so many alternate forms of transit available to their people, it even makes a few of their highways sparsely travelled enough to eliminate speed zones. Thanks cyclists and train passengers and bus riders, for making car traffic more practical.

[@jayamber4448]

All true but unfortunately many people will continue to be wilfully ignorant on the subject. Local governments have to be bolder and stop allowing nimbys to derail cycling projects.

[@Knobbler]

Another thing is that cycling/walking is more space efficient. There are more people traveling in a smaller space because most car owners take up a gargantuan amount of space on the road with their car that is usually almost empty. A bike has only one seat, so it will always be 100% full (excluding cargo bikes). It's a bit like building a house, except instead of water pipes, you use steam pipes and condense the water on arrival - hugely impractical, space and money inefficient.

[@riverw4721]

Ooh great analogy!

[@BlueBetaPro]

Without even watching the video, it's not complicated, it's simple car drivers steer around a vehicle the size of two king size madresses while bikes ride a vehicle the size of a chair. Who do you think is the biggest trouble, the fact that cars are treated as something superior of resources while bikes get scraps in comparison is insane. We are simply converting a wasteful use of resources to a better one, from a greedy use of resources to one that helps everyone. It's less about removing "traffic" it's about making traffic more efficient by making it more comfortable to use the more efficient option, guiding behavior.

[@davethibault6734]

I live in Montreal, which has the best bike lane network in North America. (Though still well below a lot of European cities) And just in the last few months, I've seen a monumental increase in the amount of people on bikes, mostly due to high fuel costs. I wouldn't be surprised if bike lanes will eventually need to be widened to account for the extra cyclists.

[@Free-g8r]

The amount of entitled suburbanites who complain about the cycling infrastructure is really annoying though. But thankfully Plante won the last election which shows most people support her direction The REV on St Denis is a "dream" indeed...

[@peachydais]

moving from a small hilly town in yorkshire with terrible public transport to manchester with its ample and flat bike lanes has been incredible!! haven't been in a car all year and take the majority of my trips by bike. it's actually quicker to cycle a lot of my journeys too because of the said traffic, i find myself almost racing the cars.

[@FHRider-o1m]

So true, it's funny how moving to a city can make life much easier 😁 without the car of course!

[@Free-g8r]

Also the time required to find parking is usually not factored into car trip times. But when it is factored in cycling easily becomes the fastest mode for short trips in cities

[@richardstewart6900]

True for you maybe. But how true for every driver and every journey they do? There are some (many?) for whom cycling simply isn't an option on every journey.

[@TheUltimateBlooper]

In Birmingham I didn't even need to race the cars in the morning because the traffic barely moved. What's even worse - where I live the buses get stuck in traffic, because the genius city planners couldn't dedicate a bus lane! So imagine it taking 40min to 1.5h by bus/car to get to work vs 12min on my bike. The choice was obvious and I felt more awake every morning! But I work from home now, so the commutes are gone altogether.

[@peachydais]

@@richardstewart6900 i know richard, that's why i started the sentence talking about how difficult cycling and public transport can be in certain towns

[@BMWS1000RRR]

Bikes are better than cars. 🌱

[@ilichio]

In Mexico City it took some time but the bicycle lanes use has increased a lot. The problem is that the big cities are the destiny of many commuters so in the end the use of the bicycle lanes is just for the locals and the traffic jams continue.

[@BikeriderMihai]

Romania Capital Bucharest has no cycles lanes and is most congestion city in Europe far worst than London and they have no plain to build bike lanes

[@dropatrain]

100 lane highway? Don't give Houston any ideas!

[@yagi3925]

Thanks for debunking this fallacy.

[@Na2gumiBlogspot]

The future of big cities is healthy public transport, bike lanes, and pedestrian zones.

[@skinnyd_tk6795]

As a german i have to say i really love commuting on a bike in the city i used to live, even if the weather is bad. what i don't like is how dangerous it can be, basically putting bike lanes on roads, instead of sidewalks. also another factor is public transportation. in my city its pretty bad, where a bus rarely ever comes on weekends. i can't really leave without a car just to make groceries. in a car or bus that trip would be like 5 minutes, but on my bike its so much longer because its an uphill climb all the way. its also tireing. doesn't mean i never do it, but i'd appreciate a bus more often. another thing is getting to school. in the morning its fine. a very pleasant 40 minute trip. after school its a different story. i basically ride 40 minutes in the bus, and have to wait another 30-40 minutes to make a small 5 minute ride home. I could also walk home but that takes like 45-60 minutes. so i often just wait.

[@jimmybaldbird3853]

I appreciate your honest assessment. Usually euros just say how everything in europe is gold

[@Moshimulations]

For up-hill climbs, it may be the type of bike you are cycling on. It may be ideal to switch to an Ebike, there are ones that cost under 1000 and my ebike costs around £590 (€685.78)

[@AnthonyMonaghan]

Try telling this to Auckland City council and Auckland drivers. Cycling in Auckland is dangerous, frowned upon and actively discouraged by the vast majority of the city population. As for public transport, don't even go there.

[@rickb3078]

At one point cars will become too slow for users and the infrastructure will become too expensive for the city to maintain.

[@chrisr3570]

Sun, Daily Mail and Express misrepresenting quotes? Never!

[@stephenlee5929]

No, that could never happen 😲, but to be fair same with most media, even KZbin and Guardian. 😩

[@jimcourt9164]

Grundian spouting bull eco theory nonsense. Never !!!

[@ivanangelov8825]

When made in uncompetent way bike lanes it not only worsens traffic, but it makes it more dangerous for the bikers themselves and makes their ride more miserable.

[@bobarmour5619]

The same applies - even more so - when roads are designed in an incompetent way, making things more dangerous for everybody

[@Soprie]

Paint is not protection. Bike lanes must be separated and protected.

[@erinatornow]

Badly separated bike lanes are highly dangerous for people on bikes. If they are to small, they hinder cyclists from left-turning (or right-turning in the british case) and from overtaking. Its just a curb more which you can hit if you have to avoid an obstacle like a pothole or stuff that is wrong placed at the bike lane. And the mixing of different modes of transportation encourages mutual understanding and normalizes the view of an cyclist to a motorist.

[@Random.ChanneI]

In Amsterdam it's always quicker or just as fast to cycle. So people use bikes as main transportation in Amsterdam. It's that simple. And if you want to travel by car, you need to take a detour in most cases since many streets are for cyclist only, but it will get you their quicker than a direct route because there are relatively few cars.

[@RealisticMgmt]

Love to see coverage of cycling, cycleways, and theories of traffic going mainstream!

[@mozeskertesz6398]

I think that as cars became more comfortable, the public transportation's comfort level has been in a fall for a lot of time. Just compare a train from the 60s-70s to a modern one, the results are damming. Same for metro trains: we used to sit on springy cushions, now we sit on plastic plates.

[@wiegraf9009]

People say bike lanes are part of a "war on the car" blah blah blah. If you head out to the suburbs in the Netherlands you'll see plenty of houses with two or more cars in the driveway, just like in America. They still buy and use cars to go out to rural areas or do intercity travel, just not your everyday commute!

[@SilverShamrock71]

It's not really rocket science, better cycling infrastructure = more people moving to bikes = less cars on the road = more space on the roads. I drive a GTI, but I'd rather be riding my bike

[@scotlandbydrone]

great idea but when public transport is so unreliable (where I live anyway) it just makes people go other places in their car

[@TgamerBio5529]

Even roads are closed due to only allowing bikes but no motor vehicles while my sat navigation systems keeps on trapping me in these mazes so annoying. I got to do delivery’s around London on a motorcycle with these roads closed it becoming a problem.

[@PersonaN007Grata]

Cycling and pedestrian infrastructure is similar to vertical high rise apartments and office buildings. It can cram more people into the same amount of ground. When I’m in LA, commuting in traffic is bad enough but trying to find parking is ridiculous. Cars take up so much space in our cities.

[@HollywoodGreenFresh]

theres only 2 reason why i use my car to go to work: -the last bus near my work passes at 15min before the end of my shift -i don't feel safe riding my bike at night

[@danieldaniels7571]

my drive to work takes 25 minutes. Taking the bus took over two hours, and also involved over a mile of walking.

[@SilverVSPlatinum]

There is no way London is the most congested city, They just want to make it look bad by not comparing any Asian cities. I've been to many Asian cities and the congestion over there is beyond ridiculous.

[@TheCristallo83]

When I first visited London all I used was the Underground or Santander bikes. I actually enjoyed it a lot. Where I live in the US, we have no public transportation and since we are spread out, biking isn't an option in 100°F (37.78° C) so my only option is to drive.

[@legitdoctor8293]

USA needs to take some of the funding that goes into the military, copy what Japan does and make rural/suburban america more accessible by public transport

[@jimmybaldbird3853]

@@legitdoctor8293 no thanks, we like cars. Theyre generally more convenient

[@legitdoctor8293]

@@jimmybaldbird3853 well have fun with those rising gas prices lol

[@jimmybaldbird3853]

@@legitdoctor8293 you mean the ones you have too, but double?

[@winstonsolipsist1741]

@@legitdoctor8293 If the USA decreases military spending, who will protect the rest of us from Xi and Putin? Who will guarantee international trade routes? Though recently, Putin has shown he isn't as much of a threat as we thought and Biden has shown he isn't as coherent as we all thought.

[@michaelrch]

Good analysis guys. Well done. If this stuff interests you, check out the channel Not Just Bikes. It's fascinating and very informative.

[@sebastianhuvenaars6537]

I second that, quality channel.

[@Moshimulations]

I third that, very detailed channel on transportation options.

[@cecilecorpuz5735]

Bike lanes or no bike lanes I just rode my bike, many will say it's scary to ride a bicycle in the States but not me! I've been riding a bike in now called SILICON valley since 1973/74 when there was no bike lanes! Now it has changed there a lot In San Jose 10th street and 11th street the main corridors for South bound and North bound traffic there used to be 3 lanes for cars heading each way, just recently the city of San Jose has reduced this to 2 car lanes with now one lane for bicycle traffic with low cement barriers separating the car lane from the bicycle lane and I think every other block will have loner / rental bicycles as well. The one place that I had to pay attention the most too was riding over, over passes! So I took on that animal and worked out a method of getting up and over, once I got this down I would never have to stop for cars ever again.

[@CyclingSteve]

One inaccuracy, those roads are not closed to motor traffic in Hackney, they are only closed to through traffic, maintaining full access.

[@Banana_Split_Cream_Buns]

My guess is that, like with anything, it has to be designed well for it to work well. My next guess is that just retrofitting one thing on top of another, as part of a box ticking exercise, hasn't worked.

[@sergiobasilio8098]

"You're not stuck in traffic, you are the traffic"

[@a.b2966]

How does increasing the movement of people increase congestion 😂 ? carbrains be like: bike = less space for my SUV.

[@Thebowber]

Lovely, outside London and a few other cities the public transport infrastructure is non existent. Where I live there is one bus a day to the local town and most villages have zero public transport in rural areas. Then you look at getting a train to anywhere and just laugh, it's a LOT cheaper to get in our car and drive there, pay for parking and drive home again.

[@bluceree7312]

So, City AM, The Mail online, The Telegraph, The Express, the Sun, and the Evening Standard. The top 6 publications that ever adorned our media outlets. SMH.

[@bluceree7312]

Sorry did I say publications? I meant tabloids.

[@michaelgillett5477]

I’m terribly sorry as a longtime cyclist motorcyclist and car driver I just like to throw a spanner in the argument where is all the car parking or should I say bicycle parking gonna be there is already a fifth epidermic with motorbikes mopeds and such like in some cities and bicycles are you even easier to pinch they will get stolen so the biggest thing that will stop people riding bicycles is the parking so they don’t get stolen terribly sorry to be sensible and bring this up but sensible is missing these days thank you very much Michael

[@zivkovicable]

One car parking space is enough room to store at least 10 bikes, or double that if multi level bike storage is installed.It's obviously cars that are the problematic epidemic taking up unreasonable ammounts of space.... Theft will always be a problem, but tracking devices are now pretty cheap, & locally to me, police have recently made several arrests because a single bike had a tracker hidden in the frame, leading to the thieves lock ups. . A game changer.

[@fuzzybee3788]

Replace car-parking with bike-parking. It's much more space efficient

[@altriish6683]

Okay, that San Francisco bike lane in the 4 panel shot looked like a nightmare. Squashed between parked cars and several lanes of traffic, with only a painted bicycle gutters to protect you? Yikes.

[@JohnnyGification]

I'm not understanding. It's a bicycle lane. It isn't hard. There's nothing to protect you like most bicycle Lanes.

[@scooptm]

@@JohnnyGification look at dutch bicycle lanes, something like a divider usually seperates the lanes, it doesnt cost much extra, and keeps cars from parking on the lanes, as well as making it less likely for cars to hit bikers. on top of that, the roads seem less wide, which in term reduces car speeds making safer roads. Slower car speeds induce people to want to use alternative transport options, which then reduces traffic/congestion which then speeds up car traffic again.

[@cannygrowabeard]

The most important thing about transport is choice.

[@MinkieWinkle]

except this solution removes one choice, or more accurate. makes one choice harder, to encourage another. the reality is, if people wanted to cycle they already would the lanes are irrelevant, as there is nothing stopping people from using the roads to cycle already, putting a dedicated lane wont change the fact that people do not want to cycle.

[@Preetzole]

@@MinkieWinkle Research and evidence would beg to differ

[@Moshimulations]

@@MinkieWinkle Within my commute, I basically have to cycle in highway traffic I flippin hate it. Simply put it, it is the fastest route but lane changing as a cyclist is an absolute nightmare. I wish they added proper cycle bypass that mimics that road.

[@sablatnic8030]

Makes sense - I haven't visited Copenhagen since they removed a lot of parking space about 20 years ago. Just not going there!

[@zivkovicable]

Not missed. You are more trouble than you are worth if you drive in. A drain on resources, & bad for the enviroment.

[@sablatnic8030]

@@zivkovicable I could take the bus - go to Copenhagen in the afternoon, sleep in a cheap hotel, and go home next morning! Never!!

[@Simon-tc1mc]

I'm a passionate urbanist, yet I'm still unsure of I believe in induced demand. A city has a set population, and a large chunk of that population will travel by car no matter what. Increasing bike lanes will cause some to switch to biking, but I can't see it being a significant chunk. And of course increasing lanes somewhere like LA will make no difference, but if you're living in a mid sized city with little tourism, it seems there would be a set number of car commuters. Increasing lanes shouldn't increase congestion if there is a set number of car commuters. Maybe I just don't grasp the full picture though. Please prove me wrong

[@grambo4436]

Which is why I think the population should not be lowered but should but more spread out.

[@imperialspy3457]

@@grambo4436 suburbs and urban sprawl encourage car use due to longer travel distances, mostly public transport are often limited in suburbs (an issue with the service).

[@dalveerbansal1324]

Need to point out the obvious tho.... how many people who drive cars actually switch to cycling? ... its more like people who use buses will switch to cycling instead. Therefore the net number of cars on the road does not actually fall, you just get more empty buses

[@afgor1088]

Objectively untrue

[@dalveerbansal1324]

@@afgor1088 I think so, I know a few bus people who have started cycling and lots of car people who refuse to start cycling

[@afgor1088]

@@dalveerbansal1324 don't care what you think, you're incorrect Even if it were true they should be forced

[@dalveerbansal1324]

Bit rude? If you don't care what I think then Why you reading and replying to comments?... It's just harder for car people to leave from there comfort of there own vehicles

[@Alto53]

@@afgor1088 hello authoritarian.

[@gollumtheartisticnewt1028]

Anyone who thinks that London is the most congested has never been to India or China.

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

I'm a driver and a cyclist. I deliver food, and that means I have to get gas every few days. To save on gas, I try not to drive for my personal trips. I can go to the grocery store or thrift store on my bike no problem. Before I got my license a few years ago in my late 20s, I rode a bike to work all the time. It's not even a bike friendly area, there's no bicycle infrastructure and the terrain is very hilly, and I can still do it easily. It's really that easy. Get out of your car, improve traffic, improve your health. The buses here are free too, though infrequent, but still free if you need a ride somewhere in town.

[@starbase218]

For anyone curious about this, I recommend the channel Not Just Bikes. Though be prepared to have your mind blown. Infrastructure is key. The Netherlands prioritizes all road users, instead of just cars. The result is a walkable, cyclable and also driveable (but that’s less important) environment. And a more human environment as well. Walking and cycling means you get free exercise, while you’re going somewhere. So you save time because otherwise you’d have to go to the gym. Which nobody likes to do because it’s single-tasking. You don’t need as much tarmac because bikes are way smaller than cars. Upon arrival, it’s much easier to park a bike than it is to park a car. You create a huge socio-economic equalizer because people have cheap access to transport independence. The city becomes quieter, which again has health benefits. And maybe you also decrease the nations dependence on oil. Please don’t argue that “it sometimes rains”. It does - sometimes. And even when it does, you can still cycle. It rains less in London than it does in Amsterdam. And in winter, it doesn’t snow as much in London either.

[@Moshimulations]

All you need is a few tools to be able to cycle in rain or snow. Here are the tools: Helmet with Visor, Gloves, A decent Jacket/Coat, A neckwarmer (it is better than a loose scarf for safety reasons), (Optional) you could get yourself a rain protector sheet that you can place all around you and the handles. There you go, you are ready to cycle in those weather types. So yes I agree with you, big time.

[@starbase218]

@@Moshimulations Helmet? What's that? :)

[@kuqiu5003]

We need separate bike lanes here in oxford

[@vintageradio3404]

In cities like Sydney where colonial-era streets were never widened before building work began nearby, bike lanes are a real problem and they are being forced on tax-paying motorists who are finding it more difficult to navigate vehicles which are ultimately getting bigger by the year. I don't object to bike lanes but they should be on their own reservations and where they are installed, it should not be legal for riders to use the adjacent streets, which does still happen a lot. Don't forget, it's not just cars, but trucks and buses also use these streets. They cannot be replaced with bikes for obvious reasons.

[@stewartellinson8846]

you'll find that those cyclists pay tax too. If you get rid of the cars and put the occupants into buses or onto bikes then the cities suddenly have more than enough space for buses, lorries and vans plus less pollution and a healthier population.

[@danieldaniels7571]

vehicles were getting smaller and more fuel efficient by the year. Somewhere around the turn of the century automakers lost the plot.

[@o.a.j.8168]

It is weird seeing this as a Dutch person. I use my bike almost every day and it is super convenient. I sometimes still have to realise how lucky I am because this isn't normal in most country's.

[@starbase218]

I’m from The Netherlands too. And I’m now pretty much convinced that what we do best isn’t football or even speed skating. It’s infrastructure. It’s not just “bike lanes” either. It’s also creating cycling infrastructure on its own, that can often be more direct than roads can be. And it frees up those roads for cars as well. This is what I’m missing in this video. But then the video wasn’t made by a Dutch person.

[@sustainablelivingnl773]

The more people on bikes the less cars on the roads.

[@NicolasProix]

The video is absolutely right : due to Jevons paradox, decreasing space allowed to cars reduces traffic. But you forgot something very important : security. Road fatalities are mainly due to cars (and trucks). Reducing their place will mean saving lifes immediately, in addition of all the others advantages.

[@betula2137]

I feel like they could have mentioned quite a lot more benefits to adding infrastructure which isn't car-centric. Indeed, cycling infrastructure is subject to criticism by sensationalist papers across the world, but this phenomenon is known as "bikelash", and is a paradox, including in Melbourne, where the short term criticism masks the broader public appeal, and obviously urban designers who have been saying this for decades. Channels Not Just Bikes, Oh the Urbanity, and Alan Fisher are useful for further exploration.

[@reynoutdecourt7983]

The Dutch have got it sorted!

[@crankypipo]

Two words: city planning

[@saranbhatia8809]

Makes sense!

[@matthewcornfield2150]

This video was absolutely spot on. If you want to run down this rabbit hole of KZbin, I recommend City Beautiful, NotJustBikes, Citynerd, amond many many others. It's addictive!

[@ianhomerpura8937]

The Tim Traveller and Jay Foreman's KZbin channels, as well.

[@rieksstevens]

fact if you totally ban cars from streets with lots of shops the amount of shoppers will increase .

[@Zorin9]

Please can we get some proper bike lanes (separated from traffic) and public transport for cities… outside of London! Bring back trams with 5 + lines that connect to everywhere

[@ChristianWiley-cf8gx]

Aside from "traffic". Other variables to consider include: reduced injury/fatalities road users, Increased commercial benefits of local businesses Increased freedom of movement and autonomy for kids and people who may not be able to afford car ownership. Population health benefits from increased incidental exercise. Lowering the cost of living for households who may no longer require owning a car. Reducing noise in communities. All of this should be considered in any cost benefit analysis of high quality cycle infrastructure.

[@Staann]

Hire a Dutch guy, problem solved

[@guidoalfonso]

love this idea, I hope it will work and prosper

[@ch0wned]

That which is suggested without evidence is rejected without evidence.

[@mikewade777]

Amsterdam and other places like are a goal many cities want to achieve. The evidence is in what the dutch achieved.

[@SocksAndPuppets]

It's nice to see UK outlets actually finding out about Induced demand. Maybe we'll start to get some decent urban planning in the next decade.

[@JudeFurr]

This effects areas economically too. I live in the SF Bay Area and since San Francisco City has become less and less driveable, I now spend all of my time and money in the suburbs, almost never going to the City since my work is outside too. If there are enough people doing the same, the City will deteriorate.

[@aeiouaeiou100]

This is absolutely true. Just look at the larger Dutch cities. Lots of 1 lane roads with very low car speeds but not very busy. It's very chill to drive a car in those cities even though it's not extremely fast. Very often the bike and public transport routes are a bit quicker and very convenient and you see a lot of people using those.

[@adam1885282]

Carbrains making disingenuous arguments? No way

[@TimothyWhiteheadzm]

Great video, but you didn't really address the main false claim which is that congestion is what matters. What matters is whether or not people can travel where they want when they want and how easy and comfortable that is. Congestion only really measures the impact on people who choose to travel by car. It doesn't measure people who choose not to travel or people who travel by other methods. Congestion is seen as the key problem only by people who have to travel by car in that congestion. The problem is they tend to be the decision makers.

[@paxundpeace9970]

A negative effect on traffic congestion = less traffic congestion

[@Altis_play]

to create demand there must be a supply.

[@stevezodiac491]

I commuted to work for 25 years on a push bike, 34 miles per day, 5 days a week all year around. I never used cycle lanes because they are never cleaned, leading to punctures. They are also designed too slow for faster cyclists, and you have to stop all the time for cars at junctions that always have priority due to bike lane design. They also don't go directly where you want to go, leading to slower journey times. Why would any proper cyclist choose to use a second class to cars bike lane ?

[@Erinba]

The newspapers that printed those articles were daily mail, the telegraph and evening standard… not worth paying attention to them anyway

[@human_isomer]

This seems to be quite a narrow view on densely populated areas. But in many regions of the world, a lot of traffic is caused by people commuting from a more or less remote place into the city they work in. And without providing acceptable solutions to switch from car to public transport, or find a place to work close to where those people live, this kind of traffic will not be reduced anytime soon.

[@stephenlee5929]

Given issue of last 2 years, maybe the model of working in cities might be changing. Most office based work can be done remotely..

[@johnathin0061892]

They never, ever address crime and housing costs, which is a big reason people don't live in cities where they work. Most big US cities are unlivable because they are extremely expensive and dangerous.

[@winstonsolipsist1741]

@@stephenlee5929 Work from home is elitist. Plumbers, construction workers, assembly line workers, restaurant workers, et al "the poor working class" can't work from home. Unfortunately, those elites that work at home control the political system. They are fine making these decisions that hurt everyone else. Fuel prices for instance. The prices are skyrocketing but the elites are fine with it because they can afford an electric car for the few things for which they need to travel. They tell the working class to take public transit. I don't see how a plumber can do his job via public transit.

[@stephenlee5929]

@@winstonsolipsist1741 What I said was most office based work can be done at home. Whilst I agree this does not translate to factory and construction or service workers, it probably accounts for the majority of city workers. Not sure where the majority of plumbing jobs take place, but I'm guessing those in peoples homes will be helped by the availability of the clients if working from home? Not sure who the elite working at home are, since the Government seem to want office workers (civil servants) to get back to the office (press release from Cabinet Office 21 Jan 22).

[@velokernow3696]

The UK and indeed the world, is gripped in an epidemic. Car owner virus symptoms include a normalisation of car use through the likes of television. Normalisation of speeding, driving while not in a fit state, a fantasy of freedom and deserted highways. Other symptoms include laziness, obesity, stress and sometimes, rage. We are taught to aspire to car ownership from a very early age.

[@Northwest360]

Thank you for making this video! Bike lanes are a great help in working towards a healthier planet and populace. It also makes city life much more fun and engaging!

[@nathanjohansen7169]

If adding lanes reduces traffic, then traffic increases to fill those lanes, wouldn't the same effect take place when adding bike lanes? Some people may ride because it was quicker, but once the traffic reduces to a point that it no longer is quicker they would go back to driving? I feel like both scenarios would reach an equilibrium at some point.

[@kanucks9]

Bike lanes can accommodate more people, so when it does reach a new equilibrium, there is less traffic for the same trips

[@fraghetti]

there will never be too little space on cycle lanes because they have 7x more efficiency (throughput) than car lanes. cars are literally waste of (what could be) shared space.

[@paulcook7426]

I'm not exactly convinced that headlines from known anti-cycling newspapers is conducive to the facts anyway.

[@darcymr353]

But the video is pro cycling...

[@CTIGX]

@@darcymr353 he is criticizing the other newspapers that made the anti cycling headlines at 0:14

[@FinneasJedidiah]

Im glad to see mainstream news sources making urbanism videos

[@alcidesforever]

Lovely voice over in the video

[@stardrive8561]

This will worsen our traffic

[@sam512]

How?

[@1789Bastille]

Paint is not a bike lane. Proper Infrastructure for pedestrians, bicycles and cars make a city and he traffic livable

[@Aaron-cc7yq]

This breakdown may be applicable to the UK, but I don't believe his theory would hold up in places like the US or actually any place outside of major cities

[@afgor1088]

Yes it would, there are cities in the US which prove that

[@bluettr250]

Here is the deal. Car heads can’t stand if every piece of tarmac that isn’t theirs

[@bluettr250]

@@moa-wg3bo we tried playing nice. No more. The pavement belongs first to walking and rolling and second to everything else

[@scottmcshannon6821]

so the theory, taken to the extreme, is that if you eliminate all roads, no one will need or want to go anywhere.? the only thruth to tht statemen is that if you have 2 roads next to each other, one with 2 lanes and one with 4 lanes; the one with 4 lanes will attrack more drivers. DUH.