Advantages of Active Travel over Public Transport during pandemics

[Cyril Haearn]

Then time-trials with riders at one-minute intervals are allowed, no massed-start races of course
..
Luxembourg made public transport free (-1), so it is cheaper than cycling or walking, hard to keep 1-2 m from others in a tram

[atlas_shrugged]

CORONAVIRUS can spread at a faster rate on the London Underground according to one cleaning expert who warned about the multiple surfaces the deadly disease can be found on when travelling on the capital's tube.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/12577 ... ate-latest

The expert advises that he is currently avoiding use of the tube.

[atlas_shrugged]

It’s not always possible but the best way to get around virus free is almost certainly to walk or cycle. Regular exercise of at least 150 minutes a week also protects you from heart and other vascular disease – a much bigger risk to your health than coronavirus in the long run.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-heal ... ice-tubes/

[atlas_shrugged]

Comparing our results with influenza-like illnesses (ILI) data collected by Public Health England (PHE) in London boroughs, shows a correlation between the use of public transport and the spread of ILI. Specifically, we show that passengers departing from boroughs with higher ILI rates have higher number of contacts when travelling on the underground. Moreover, by comparing our results with other demographic key factors, we are able to discuss the role that the Underground plays in the spread of airborne infections in the English capital.

https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/art ... 018-0427-5

Goscé, L., Johansson, A. Analysing the link between public transport use and airborne transmission: mobility and contagion in the London underground. Environ Health 17, 84 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-018-0427-5

[MikeF]

Active travel is fine if you can walk or cycle easily, but there is a large group of people who can't and need public transport. My wife usually walks one way to the shops and uses public transport for the return.

[atlas_shrugged]

Bikes Gain Popularity as People Ditch Subways and Buses - report from US

https://www.planetizen.com/news/2020/03 ... -and-buses

"A growing wave of New Yorkers are embracing cycling to get to work and around the city as their regular subway and bus commutes have suddenly become fraught with potential perils, from possibly virus-tainted surfaces to strangers sneezing and coughing on fellow passengers," reports Winnie Hu.

The evidence of the surging popularity of bikes as a preferred mode of transportation during a pandemic is more than anecdotal. "Citi Bike, the city’s bike share program, has seen demand surge 67 percent this month: Between March 1 and March 11, there were a total of 517,768 trips compared with 310,132 trips during the same period the year before," reports Hu.

[Sweep]

well cycling is clearly good but i fail to see the protective benefits of bike sharing.
what's the difference between touching a multi-use bike and briefly touching a rail/button/handrail on a tube/train/tram/bus?

[atlas_shrugged]

That is a good point about the grips when using a shared bike. Maybe use gloves, and carry some portable disinfection if you use a shared bike or use a toucan crossing.

Maybe stick to your own trusty Brompton.

[atlas_shrugged]

If this German expert is right then the mortality rate of Corona virus may be linked to pollution which is why the mortality rates in China and Italy are high.

https://youtu.be/JBB9bA-gXL4

If this is true then the advantages of active travel are that it does not produce pollution.

[atlas_shrugged]

Is Using a Bike for Transport the Best way to Avoid the Coronavirus?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4k_oOs ... 0lIGXTuzrU

[atlas_shrugged]

Nice video about what companies like Brompton are helping people to social distance during the Corona lockdown. NHS workers are taking to bikes as a way of avoiding crowded public transport:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1242757688158826496

[atlas_shrugged]

In a global health emergency the bicycle shines:

https://www.citylab.com/perspective/202 ... 19/608725/

[atlas_shrugged]

Cycle paths in parts of Berlin are being redrawn to allow more space for people commuting to work on a bike:

https://twitter.com/philipoltermann/sta ... 7867854848

[atlas_shrugged]

London bike shop offers e-bikes to NHS staff for free on three month loan

Fully Charged is partnering with Gocycle on initiative aimed at helping key staff get to work

Dan Parsons, director of operations at Fully Charged, said: "This is a reflection of the importance of cycling as a viable alternative to using public transport, as well as the benefits it offers to people’s health and wellbeing, particularly at a time of self-isolation and social distancing".

https://road.cc/content/news/london-bik ... oan-272315

[The utility cyclist]

Cycled to the supermarket this arvo, still motorists driving at dangerous speeds though many giving good overtaking space, bumped into an old neighbour at the shop I'd not seen since our kids were at infant school together circa 18 years ago, we had a good natter, had to improvise though