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The difference between bikes and cars is in the mean/variance of time to park. For a bike it takes about 1 minute or more to stop, detach/unlock your lock from

The difference between bikes and cars is in the mean/variance of time to park. For a bike it takes about 1 minute or more to stop, detach/unlock your lock from the frame and lock your bike to a bike stand, then take off your helmet. You reverse this when you get back on the bike. The variance is also not that high on this number. For a car, the mean time varies greatly from location to location and the variance is much higher. You might get stuck several minutes searching or waiting for a parking spot or you might get a spot immediately and be walking to the shop in under 15 seconds. These differences have some effect on how much people want to bike/drive. I think one way of encouraging biking more would be to work on lock designs and bike stand design so it takes less time to park your bike.

tda 7y ago
I have both a fast electric bike and a normal bike. For the electric bike it indeed takes a minute or three to unlock, enter pin code on bike, put on helmet etc. That's why I prefer my normal bike for short distances, takes me 10 seconds to lock, and I can usually park it within 10m of where I want to be. There is really no faster way to get around in any Dutch city for say <2km, than a plain old bike. If I would go to the local supermarket it would take me longer to find a parking spot that the entire bike ride there.
wh0knows 7y ago
It sounds like you're describing a much different biking culture than is the one in the Netherlands. For a minor stop here it will take less than 10 seconds to park a bike. Usually there's bike parking or a stand on the street right in front of the shop, no need to look for anything, nobody wears helmets when biking in the Netherlands, and if you're not parking for a long time you just lock the back wheel by pulling out the key- no chain involved at all. So what this looks like in practice is hopping off your bike right in front of the shop/cafe/bar/restaurant and pulling out the key- that's it.

tda 7y ago

I have both a fast electric bike and a normal bike. For the electric bike it indeed takes a minute or three to unlock, enter pin code on bike, put on helmet etc. That's why I prefer my normal bike for short distances, takes me 10 seconds to lock, and I can usually park it within 10m of where I want to be. There is really no faster way to get around in any Dutch city for say <2km, than a plain old bike. If I would go to the local supermarket it would take me longer to find a parking spot that the entire bike ride there.

wh0knows 7y ago

It sounds like you're describing a much different biking culture than is the one in the Netherlands. For a minor stop here it will take less than 10 seconds to park a bike. Usually there's bike parking or a stand on the street right in front of the shop, no need to look for anything, nobody wears helmets when biking in the Netherlands, and if you're not parking for a long time you just lock the back wheel by pulling out the key- no chain involved at all. So what this looks like in practice is hopping off your bike right in front of the shop/cafe/bar/restaurant and pulling out the key- that's it.