[sustran] Re: motorcycles and buses

Daryl Oster et3 at et3.com
Fri Dec 3 04:32:48 JST 2004


Simon,

I am glad to learn that you are a bus driver who properly obeys the rules of
ROW; and I hope your example is able to radiate to the hundreds of bus
drivers we observed during our months in Chengdu.

Am I understanding you correctly that you believe that busses should have
priority according to the capacity of the vehicle?  

I agree that there are some very aggressive motorcycle drivers, and I
condemn the ROW rule violations they make.  

I also agree with you that busses have some advantages over motorcycles as
you point out, this dose not change the various safety and cost related
advantages of motorcycles that I illustrated in my post.  

> The whole concept of private transport is based on the idea that the
> interests of a single person -- its user -- should have priority over the 
> interests of the whole community that has to put up with them. This is as 
> true for motorcycles as it is for cars.

This is patently false.  Cars and motorcycles are not generally given
special priority over busses and taxis.  All road vehicles must follow the
same rules - unless busses or trucks are unable to use some streets because
of physical size or weight constraints.  

If there is any special priority, it is special lanes granted to busses and
HOVs, and the exclusive priority given to trains at at-grade road crossings
of RR ROW (ever see a train stop and wait for cars or motorcycles?).


Daryl Oster
(c) 2004  all rights reserved.  ETT, et3, MoPod, "space travel on earth"
e-tube, e-tubes,  and the logos thereof are trademarks and or service marks
of et3.com Inc.  For licensing information contact:    et3 at et3.com ,
www.et3.com  POB 1423, Crystal River FL 34423-1423  (352)257-1310


> -----Original Message-----
> From: sustran-discuss-bounces+et3=et3.com at list.jca.apc.org
> [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+et3=et3.com at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of
> EcoPlan, Paris
> Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 3:37 AM
> To: Sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org
> Subject: [sustran] motorcycles and buses
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Simon Norton [mailto:S.Norton at dpmms.cam.ac.uk]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 11:25 PM
> To: newmobilitycafe at yahoogroups.com
> 
> 
> As a bus user I strongly resent Daryl Oster's suggestion that bus drivers
> abuse
> other road users. In my experience they are more likely to keep giving way
> to
> other traffic, which is one reason why buses are so slow.
> 
> If a bus has 50 people on it, why should it have to give way to a series
> of
> vehicles with 1-2 people in them each ? And even if it has only 5 people,
> maybe
> some of those empty seats could be used to replace vehicles on the street
> if
> buses could run at a decent speed, thus helping to reduce congestion for
> the
> benefit of all.
> 
> In my experience motorcyclists, far from being defensive, are among the
> most
> aggressive of drivers. This was specifically stated in that article about
> "motoboys". Motorcyclists demand to be able to use bus lanes even though
> the
> purpose of bus lanes is, or should be, to give users of public transport
> priority over those who bring their own motor vehicles onto the streets.
> When
> pedestrians are taking advantage of a car jam to cross streets they have
> to look
> out for motorcyclists weaving in and out.
> 
> Motorcycles are big noise makers. By a coincidence in today's Guardian
> newspaper
> there were two answers to a "Notes and Queries" question about why
> motorcycles
> seemed to be exempt from noise regulations. One was from something called
> the
> Motorcycle Action Group which said that they had warned European
> governments
> that the reaction of motorcyclists to tough noise regulations would be to
> ignore
> them, and another was from someone who said that he regarded it as music
> not
> noise. Well I don't see why I should have to listen to someone's music
> either,
> especially if it is in a style I abhor.
> 
> The whole concept of private transport is based on the idea that the
> interests
> of a single person -- its user -- should have priority over the interests
> of the
> whole community that has to put up with them. This is as true for
> motorcycles as
> it is for cars.
> 
> Simon Norton
> 






More information about the Sustran-discuss mailing list