[sustran] Stunt idea for sustran advocates

[Paul Barter]

>From the latest Mobilizing the Region newsletter from the New York City
region (Electronic Edition Number 194  October 30, 1998).

>CARS LOSING EDGE IN SUBURBAN GRIDLOCK
>
>RideWise, the Raritan Valley NJ transportation management
>association, sponsored a contest this week between a driver and a
>cyclist to see which had the faster commute. The bike lost - but only
>by 15 seconds.
>
>   The cyclist raced the driver on a 6.5 mile, approximately 18-minute
>route from Branchburg to Somerville. A 1990 RideWise study showed
>that less than 3 percent of Somerset County residents bike to work.
>"Time is more of a concern these days," RideWise Executive Director
>Anita Perez told the Courier-News. "If we could show people they
>could save time by including their workout with their commute, we're
>hoping it'll be a good sell."
>
>   In a similar race in NYC several years ago, televised on Channel 13,
>a bicyclist beat both a subway rider and a motorist - the latter by a
>very wide margin - on a route from downtown Brooklyn to Herald
>Square.

If good publicity can be mustered then this kind of race can be a useful
stunt for advocates of the "greener", "city-friendly" and lower-cost modes
of transport.  I have heard of similar races successfully organised in
various cities, including one in Kuala Lumpur several years ago in which
the bicycle also came first, followed by the motorcyclist.


A. Rahman Paul BARTER,

(PLEASE NOTE NEW MAILING ADDRESS)
SUSTRAN Resource Centre
P.O. Box 11501
50748 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Phone: +603 274 2590 (or fax on request)
E-mail: <sustran at po.jaring.my> or <tkpb at barter.pc.my> (personal)
URL: http://www.geocities.com/Rainforest/Canopy/2853

The SUSTRAN Resource Centre hosts the Secretariat of SUSTRAN (the
Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific).