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Comment by chosenbreed37 | Hacker News Reader

> Cautiously optimistic about this! I live in London and expected a swing towards more cars as a result of this (which would be barely manageable).

Mmm...in theory this sounds good. I wonder if the people that could/cycle aren't already doing it. I have a number of colleagues who live in London. However they're just too far away from the office to be able to cycle let alone walk there. London's a big place. A lot of people use trains and buses to get from the periphery to the centre. I'm not sure cycling or walking is an option for them.

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Yes, many commutes from London suburbs to the centre are not easily cyclable but nor are they really drivable either due to congestion and lack of city-centre parking. Although, if you drastically reduce the number of cars on the road, then you would have more space for more direct and safe cycle routes, which would increase the number of cyclable journeys. Reduced congestion might also let you run more busses.

But yeah, ultimately the pre-Corona model of London commuting, with basically the entire population of the city going into and out from the centre at the start and end of the day is not going to be feasible anymore, no matter what mix of cars, public transport, walking and cycling you have. But we should still try to achieve a mix than enables the best possible quality of life for everyone.

As a Dutchman I just don't like cycling here in London, I am living in Westminster and work near Bank. The cycling is doable but most cars don't care about cyclists while they are after pedestrians the weakest participator.

> I wonder if the people that could/cycle aren't already doing it.

I know plenty of people who are within cycling distance, but haven't chosen to cycle because they prefer other options for transport and fitness.

Cycling comes with certain inconveniences that it takes a certain enthusiasm to overcome. You have to own a bike you're happy to use. You have to be fit enough for the distance you need to go. You have to plan out and learn a route. You may have to be confident/experienced/macho enough to ride among traffic and navigate big multi-lane junctions. You have to be willing to shower and change at your destination, or not do so. You might need to buy lights or bags or even different clothes. You have to be willing to get wet in the rain. You may have to figure out how to store your bike at both ends.

I agree not everyone will be able to change to cycling, of course. Reading to Paddington can be done in 30 minutes by train, but takes 4 hours by bike - and some people have disabilities or other things that keep them from cycling. But I'm confident there are plenty of people who can rise to the challenge despite not having done so before.

You also have to have somewhere to put the bike while not in use. Bike theft in London (before social distancing at least) was common.

I doubt anyone will want to cycle after reading that LOL. Jokes aside you raise loads of good points. With respect to covid-19 I doubt many would want to use communal shower facilities. I wouldn't. In places like London and many other cities you can always rent a bike. You do also have the flexibility of using public transport if its pouring with rain. But it is big issue. With regards to theft..my solution was to get a cheap bike after having my entry road bike stolen. And I now lock the wheels as well LOL. And I've upgraded my lock. Never looked back! LOL

Reading to Paddington can be done in 30 minutes by train, but takes 4 hours by bike

I don't think anybody is suggesting that, in fact I wonder why you even raised it.

Because I agree with chosenbreed37's point that some people are "just too far away from the office to be able to cycle"

And if I'd chosen a non-ridiculous number for my example, someone would have 'corrected' me by telling me they cycle that far. I've met Londoners who have a 2 hour cycle commute, by choice because they love cycling.

Disclaimer: I don't bike, although I used to occasionally commute to work via a kick scooter when I was in the mood, or when there was something wrong with the subway. Your other points notwithstanding:

> You may have to be confident/experienced/macho enough to ride among traffic and navigate big multi-lane junctions.

But not so much if they're closing large areas of the city to cars, right?

> You have to own a bike you're happy to use. [...] You have to plan out and learn a route. [...] You may have to figure out how to store your bike at both ends.

It occurs to me that this applies to cars too, and cars are an order of magnitude larger and more expensive. So it's mostly a cultural change.

> You have to be fit enough for the distance you need to go. [...] You have to be willing to shower and change at your destination, or not do so.

Would an electric bike help with this? Lower level of physical exertion = less sweating.

> I wonder if the people that could/cycle aren't already doing it

I would prefer to cycle, but don't currently. My commute (when there isn't a pandemic on, that is) goes from Vauxhall to King's Cross, which is straight through Westminster - not a great borough to cycle through.

Cycling this route is probably manageable, but it requires a lot more vigilance than I'd like to have to apply during my commute.

If this leads to a reduction in traffic I'll absolutely be cycling going forward, and I've heard the same from various colleagues.

Edit: Of course, there's also a Jay Foreman video on why Londoners don't cycle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gohSeOYheXg

Use Citymapper to find a quiet route.

Vauxhall to Kings Cross is fine, there’s a segregated route pretty much the whole way, crossing Blackfriars bridge. The new elephant and castle roundabout is segregated too, and easy to navigate. Traffic levels won’t make all that much of a difference.

The roads are nicer anyway since the 20mph limit came in.

I accept the tube is quicker as the Victoria line is very good, but the returns from cycling make it worthwhile.

The best route I've found so far is the one on the right here: https://london.cyclestreets.net/journey/69221538/

There's some bits at the start and end that are annoying to deal with, and it's slightly longer, but as a result of this it's quite likely I'll start going this way when things normalise (though I'm not expecting that to be this year).

CS3 round the river is quite nice, you could cross straight away and cycle round that.

For me, the key is to continuously try different routes. Sometimes the busier roads are safer and more pleasant to cycle. Personally once I’m on my bike the length of the route no longer matters - it’s getting on it on the first place that’s tough.

Nearly all of my journeys last year where on my bike, on a hire bike, or in a taxi. It’s wonderful leaving the tube behind.

There’s a brilliant cycle path from Woolwich to London. There is a lot of cycle storage in the new Royal Arsenal development down there.

It was an easy cycle as it’s flat yet when I did that route, there were only a handful of other cyclists. Yet the tube was packed.

There’s huge scope for getting more people onto bikes. There are still cultural challenges around cycling, which hopefully will be challenged by the lockdown.

Are bikes not allowed on trains or buses? That would be a challenge for a longer commute.

Only folding bikes are allowed on trains or buses, hence the local development of the Brompton folding bike.

In the Netherlands, it's not uncommon to have a cheap bike at both ends of a rail commute.

> Only folding bikes are allowed on trains or buses

Full size bikes are sometimes allowed. For commuter trains to/from London, full size bikes are only allowed during off-peak times. On other lines, it may be necessary to reserve before travel.

https://www.thetrainline.com/trains/great-britain/bikes-on-t... , https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/cyclist...

I used to keep a cheap bike at Victoria. The mainline stations have bike parks.

It's quite common for people in the suburbs to get a train into central London and they cycle from there, either on their own fold-up bike or on a Boris Bike.

How far is too far? Walking 2 miles, cycling 5 miles is no big deal. Cycling further is eminently doable

In this case 30-45 minutes in the underground. I don't think we're talking about a couple of miles. While 5 miles on a bike each way is doable it's not a walk in the park for people that aren't used to it and for those hesitant about cycling in the city. Also 5 miles in an open stretch of road is not the same as 5 miles in the city. Even the new cycle lanes around it can be stop and start all the way. Lastly, the fact that people could do something doesn't necessarily mean that they will.

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