| Re: Davis,CA bicycle ridership down 5% over ten years
Wayne Pein wrote:
> UCD apparently instituted free busses in the recent past. This would
> kill bicycling and walking, much the way an escalator next to steps is
> used more. People generally take the physically easier route. Here in
> Chapel Hill NC, free busses have also absolutely killed bicycling and
> walking.
I don't think it's the free buses that killed walking/biking in college towns --
it's the free cars from parents. Furthermore, well-funded students are the last
ones universities want to scare away, so they tend not to make driving/parking
too inconvenient.
Also, since going to college has become so expensive, no one's in a "pay as you
go" mode anymore. Many students see a car as just a minor addition to the pile
of debt they expect to accumulate anyway.
Matt O.
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