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More of 'us' ?

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Started 10 years ago by Nelly
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Nelly
Member

Does anyone else think there are (a lot) more people commuting by bike now?

Seems to me there are, and its particularly noticable now we have the dark mornings/evenings.

Previous years there was a huge dropoff from the summer months, but - on my route anyway - there seem to be loads of cyclists.

Work bike park is still pretty busy too.

Non-scientific survey based on one person (me) which might bring some on here out in hives -

Last night on way home there were at least 5 cyclists plus me either crossing the tram tracks at Stenhouse or going west - this at 6PM. Clearly only a snapshot of one part of the Broomhouse path - but it and the canal appear consistently busy.

This morning I had to be in early so left home for Edinburgh Park at 6am. I had seen 6/7 cyclists by the time I got to the Hutchison Crossway junction on Slateford Road 10 minutes later (about the same number of people i saw at bus stops)

Dont know if this is evidence of a big shift, but it seems like there are more of us around.

Can only be good I guess - but wonder (if the increase is accurate) if some in CEC will point to the numbers and presume that cycling infra is working well?

Posted 10 years ago #
crowriver
Member

Something to do with the mild weather for this time of year, and lack of frost, ice or snow?

Posted 10 years ago #
chdot
Admin

I think more people are cycling generally.

There are definately people still starting to cycle to work.

The weather over recent months has been relatively 'cycle friendly) - mostly warm and not too windy. Some extreme rain - but you either use waterproofs or don't cycle on such days. There can't be many people who stop cycling because they got wet once(?)

"Can only be good I guess - but wonder (if the increase is accurate) if some in CEC will point to the numbers and presume that cycling infra is working well?"

Well some of the infra is good - NMW, Porty to Leith route etc.

'We' complain about things like chicanes on Leith Links and tactiles (with good reasons), but such things are less likely to bother 'new' cyclists - or stop them starting.

I'm sure CEC doesn't think "cycling infra is working well" in any sort of 'job done' sense. There is still a long way to go before the idea that 'it needs to be a lot better' gets through to key sections/people at CEC.

Parking and traffic flow are still 'more important'' than pedestrians and cyclists.

Posted 10 years ago #
Greenroofer
Member

I do a regular count (two or three times a week) of bicycles in the bike park at work, and have done so since July 2013. My 16 months' data shows a clear peak in activity at the end of August and a decline thereafter to a steady number over the winter. This year it is notable that the August peak is higher than last year, and there's a consistent pattern since then of about 10% more bikes. The peak this year was 120, and we're bumping around 75-80 at present.

If you are planning a census yourself, my analysis shows that there are significantly (in a technical, statistical, sense) fewer bikes in on a Friday than any other day. Wednesday appears to be the busiest day.

...and yes, I do do analytics for a living.

Posted 10 years ago #
Roibeard
Member

I'd be wondering about the increased numbers of cyclists in ASLs - usually I'm on my own (when not with the family!), or with one other, but regularly having 2-4 of us in the ASL seemed novel.

I'd been putting it down to confirmation bias.

I'll await this year's Spokes count with interest...

(Held on Tuesday, results pending)

Robert

Posted 10 years ago #
Dave
Member

Today I saw one other cyclist on the whole path between Cutlins Rd and the Jenners Repository, at 8am. If anyone's watching, you can see why investing in it might seem like a bad idea.

Posted 10 years ago #
SRD
Moderator

bike racks + shed at work now regularly too full. i've taken to leaving my bike on nearby railings.

MMW cycle counter regularly at 1500 when i leave work at 5ish, even on quite dreich days.

Posted 10 years ago #
steveo
Member

fewer bikes in on a Friday than any other day.

I have observed that too, though with a far less rigorous methodology. I'm curious if the being out at the Gyle makes a difference to the base line.

Posted 10 years ago #
Min
Member

Presumably because a lot of people go off somewhere for the weekend and so drive or get the bus in with their stuff and leave straight from work. Do it myself every so often - bus that is, then get the train after work.

Posted 10 years ago #
Instography
Member

A couple of possibilities for which I have no evidence but might be responsible for the impression of more people.

1. As the days get shorter, people's journeys become more direct. Instead of wandering around back roads or longer routes enjoying the trip or going for a morning run, the commute becomes more functional and we see people bunched together in the same places.

2. As the days get shorter, people's journeys start later. None of that start out early, cycling all the way there in the dark and cycling back in the dark. Give it half an hour and you can ride in the light, in the morning at least.

Anyway, I was thinking quite the opposite. Over the bridge and along NEPN has been quieter (at the time I use it) in the past couple of weeks since the clocks changed, although it seems very weather-dependent.

Posted 10 years ago #
SRD
Moderator

@insto - but that wouldn't explain more bikes locked up. (unless they've been abandoned).

too bad we don't have data from the cycle counter this time last year. not that MMW is necessarily typical.

Posted 10 years ago #
Dave
Member

Looking back at my own sporadic counts from the canal and NEPN, I would say there's no significant change between this year and last. Typical morning on NEPN right now is effectively the same as a count from last year (the variance day to day is so large that it might swamp any small trend however)

Posted 10 years ago #
steveo
Member

Presumably because a lot of people go off somewhere for the weekend

I put it down to post work pub trips but I prefer your answer Min.

Posted 10 years ago #
kaputnik
Moderator

Today I saw one other cyclist on the whole path between Cutlins Rd and the Jenners Repository, at 8am. If anyone's watching, you can see why investing in it might seem like a bad idea

I suppose most of the cyclists you would have passed going opposite direction from you would have been working at Gyle / Edinburgh Park and may have had no good reason to be en commute at 8AM. If you'd re-counted again at a time of ~15-30 minutes to many people's starting time of 9AM, you'd have got a lot more patronage I'd wager.

Let's hope the cycle surveyors aren't selectively picking the quiet times!

Posted 10 years ago #
Instography
Member

@insto - but that wouldn't explain more bikes locked up. (unless they've been abandoned).

No, it wouldn't. It's a reflex to think of counter arguments.

Posted 10 years ago #
wingpig
Member

The extra (shop-derived rather than exercise-derived) smells and extravagant clothing in the changing-room on Friday afternoon indicate that some people are not cycling/walking/running home because they first need to go somewhere to exhibit their enhanced stenches and appearance.

If I were basing my opinion solely on WoL/NEPN use then I might be tempted to agree that there are more people, but whenever I go the old short long way in there are still barely any other cyclists visible, the exceptions being the near-permanent Marionville Ninja, the traffic-sign-uncomprehending man who works in the Abbey Lane motorocycle accoutrements shop and the two other regular spots of the under-crags cycle path.

Posted 10 years ago #
dougal
Member

I'm sure there's a number of good reasons why Friday would have lower numbers. People head away early for the weekend so there's less cycle traffic on Friday afternoons at the point you're out. People take the Friday off for a long weekend. How does Monday match up here, another candidate for "long weekend" holiday use?

Posted 10 years ago #
Instography
Member

Some people loaf on the sofa working from home on a Friday.

Three from Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday is the most common part-time pattern

Posted 10 years ago #
kaputnik
Moderator

Friday is "dress down" day in our office. For many people this is actually "dress up" day, and they make some quite herculean efforts to look ~~ridiculous~~ their best.

I also note that it's generally a quiet day in the bike racks / changing room. I don't know if that's because there's;

a/ Friday sofa-loafers "working from home"
b/ Friday dresser-uppers unable to transport their fancy clothes, pointy shoes, hair products and scents by bicycle
c/ Friday goer-outers who get straight on a bus/train/tram to town to get blootered after work
d/ Friday I-cycled-the-other-4-days-and-I'm-tired-outers

Posted 10 years ago #
chdot
Admin

@ k

Which one are you?

Posted 10 years ago #
LaidBack
Member

Bike racks outside shop well used by students now so I think we are on upward trend. (although these bikes might just have been inside stairwell of before).

Bike counter MMW goes over 2000 on a good day. Recently been under as weather changes. Maybe over 1000 though by end of today I think. Just about to head over and will see.

Is there a link to bike counter data online?

Know it can be foot actuated but still gives a trend reading...

Posted 10 years ago #
Edinburgh Cycle Training
Member

I am definitely noticing more cyclists.

Whether that's because there are more, or for some other reason(s) I am just noticing them now - no idea.

My guts think its the former, but they've been known to have shit for brains at times.

Posted 10 years ago #
threefromleith
Member

I'd say there are more bikes in the racks at work now, mid-November, than there were mid-summer a few years ago. Even last year it got significantly quieter (as usual) by September / October.

I suspect that the current mild weather (11C at 6am this morning) is encouraging many to keep cycling far later in the year.

Posted 10 years ago #
LaidBack
Member

MMW counter was at 780 around 2.30.

Posted 10 years ago #
crowriver
Member

It's deffo the weather.

I recall cycling back from Porty a few Saturdays ago. The sun was out, it was dry, relatively mild. LOADS of cyclists on the Prom and Seafield Path. Never seen so many outwith midsummer.

Posted 10 years ago #
LaidBack
Member

MMW counter was at 1418 around 21.30

So around 650 hits since 14.30

Posted 10 years ago #
gembo
Member

Interesting hive mind phenomenon here where we all spot high numbers at a time when we unconsciously anticipate a decline in numbers and it does feel like there are more of us.

I proposed to the council they shut their offices on Fridays as keeping the whole building open for the skeleton staff who like me are stupid enough to work five days seems like an unnecessary expense. On similar vein I am told by our OD dept (fka HR) that it is expected that productivity should increase by a minimum of 20 % when people work from home.

Quite a good dilbert cartoon from 1980s America about this latter topic where main character ponders whether when working from home he should stop after the one hour of productive work he normally accomplishes over 8 hours in the office or whether he should do the eight hours of time he is paid for. Actually that doesn't sound funny anymore just reality. There was another one where the IT dept were taking bets on how long it would take the CEO to figure his new laptop was an etch-a-sketch

Posted 10 years ago #
Nelly
Member

"it is expected that productivity should increase by a minimum of 20 % when people work from home"

Well, they are in HR after all, so they must be right...........

Posted 10 years ago #
gembo
Member

The number of cyclists inside the apple pie bakery of carnwAth at 10.40 a.m. This morning was 20. The number outside was ten.

Curious as fog general beyond the west calder turn from the Whang, wet and cold fog to cycle through as well as opaque.

Posted 10 years ago #
LaidBack
Member

Gembo - right about fog. Was bad past Leadburn + West Linton.
Bike counter on MMW today (Sunday 16/11/14) at 4pm was 680.

Posted 10 years ago #

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