Comments on: On Assumptions

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:10:53 +0000

you present a good, thought-provoking point. i actually picked up a guy the other night because it was really cold and i figured he could use a ride. he accepted my offer but seemed to have been quite content with walking, referencing that the weather wasn’t bothering him b/c of how well he was bundled up. maybe we could all go with a little less vehicle use in our lives.
on the other hand though, i’ve also avoided the purchase of a parking pass and therefore have had some long walks from where i park to class. on many occasions i’ve wanted to hitch a ride up a few blocks just to avoid the walk and would’ve gladly accepted someone’s offer for a ride. now, if i lived closer to campus and could skip out on the driving altogether, i might feel otherwise, but since i have to commute anyway, i’d rather keep the walking to a minimal. i will admit though that some of that bias is based off the fact i often run late to my first class:)

By: Keri

Keri — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:37:08 +0000

A lot of people don’t buy cars anymore, they simply rent them from the bank. So if they’re paying X per month for an SUV and they simply shift that X to a Prius payment, they’re saving money on gas. But yeah, they’re still bad at math

By: Robert

Robert — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 06:40:19 +0000

Americans might be too bad at math for gasoline prices to make any difference. In our local paper in 2008 someone commented that they could no longer afford to gas up their old car so they purchased a prius.

A new prius goes for about $25,000. That is quite a bit of gas!!!!

By: Steve A

Steve A — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:34:53 +0000

Mostly, I walk when I got a flat, or conditions are icy enough that I don’t want to ride. In either case, I consider it an opportunity to remind myself of the beauty of riding, and to collect things back together.

Sometimes a “pedestrian unfriendly” place is pretty bike friendly. FWIW, I think Mighk is a little optimistic to suggest that gas at $6/gal will make an impact. Personally, my calculations say nothing will really change until we get well past $10. And maybe way past $10. You doubt it? Look at the cost elements of car/truck ownership.

By: Jason C

Jason C — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:44:32 +0000

Yes, we may be better off if people considered driving a car to be the lower-quality experience. Our best bet for that to happen? Media sensationalism.

The deaths caused by stuck accelerators in Toyotas is, of course, just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to auto-related fatalities. What we need (sure, I’m awful for suggesting this) are several more salient examples of how dangerous cars can be.

I assume you’ve seen the television footage of that Lexus wreckage. It’s reminiscent of an airplane crash. Imagine that happening in a major metropolitan area just as heavy traffic is slowing to a crawl. Some spectacular 14-car incident. Or midday in Manhattan. Yes, it would be horrible. But then the media could scare us with it and some people might change their opinions about car travel.

This just in: Honda is recalling over 600,000 cars worldwide because of a potential fire hazard.