Saturday, October 18, 2008

Better bicycle parking at MRT stations

MRT stations in Singapore's three main 'bicycle towns' should soon get bicycle parking better than this

The LTA has announced a pilot project to improve bicycle parking at three MRT stations by the 3rd quarter of 2009.

The new parking places will have basic weather protection and will NOT be the current 'wheel-bender' racks. Hooray!

Or maybe I should wait to see the design details before 'hooraying'? The LTA press release is not specific about the precise design of the new parking spots unfortunately. Does anyone know more?

A pilot project will be launched at Pasir Ris, Tampines and Yishun to build additional bicycle parking facilities that have an improved design. These new facilities will be located along the MRT viaducts near the MRT stations in these towns. The new facilities will allow cyclists the flexibility to lock their bicycles either at the frame or at the wheels, compared to the existing design which can be locked only at the wheels. They will also have basic shelters to protect against weather.

By the way, I noticed this item via the LTA's new Public Transport @ SG portal which is well worth a little look.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Try cycling and be pleasantly surprised

A new post over at One Less Car (another local Singapore pro-bicycle commuting blog) makes a great point.

It refers to a study from the Netherlands which investigated drivers who were forced to use a bicycle when their car was being repaired. Most found cycling a lot better than they had expected: less effort, weather not as bad, faster door-to-door, etc.

One Less Car has a nice graphic and a link to the report where he got it.

Here in Singapore people usually ask me about the heat and rain and are amazed to find that a gentle 15 minute ride on flat ground hardly raises a sweat.

One Less Car also highlights the other big one - door-to-door speed - which is a lot faster than non-cyclists imagine. Almost always faster than bus. Sometimes faster than car if car parking is difficult.