Mark S. Mandula’s Post

How People Get Around in America, Europe, and Asia This chart highlights the popularity of different transportation types in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, calculated by modal share. Data for this article and visualization is sourced from ‘The ABC of Mobility’, a research paper by Rafael Prieto-Curiel (Complexity Science Hub) and Juan P. Ospina (EAFIT University), accessed through ScienceDirect. The authors gathered their modal share data through travel surveys, which focused on the primary mode of transportation a person employs for each weekday trip. Information from 800 cities across 61 countries was collected for this study. North American Car Culture Contrasts with the Rest of the World In the U.S. and Canada, people heavily rely on cars to get around, no matter the size of the city. There are a few exceptions of course, such as New York, Toronto, and smaller college towns across the United States. As a result, North America’s share of public transport and active mobility (walking and biking) is the lowest amongst all surveyed regions by a significant amount. On the other hand, public transport reigns supreme in South and Central America as well as Southern and Eastern Asia. It ties with cars in Southeastern Asia, and is eclipsed by cars in Western Asia. As outlined in the paper, Europe sees more city-level differences in transport popularity. For example, Utrecht, Netherlands prefers walking and biking. People in Paris and London like using their extensive transit systems. And in Manchester and Rome, roughly two out of three journeys are by car.

Analysis (by Tyréns AB and Telia Crowd Insights) show that in Sweden on average every 6 out of 10 journeys can be made on foot or by bicycle within 15 minutes. In larger cities the short trips represent already 2/3 of the number of trips. From an ecological point-of-view I believe this is really good news as it means that transportation modes such as: walking, bikes, e-scooters etc. with which to travel short-distances is a true alternative for the majority of trips made. I wonder if the percentage of short-trips in more densely populated countries is even higher? Link to pressrelease: https://lnkd.in/d2r8-hnR

Our last post from the Copenhagen Series :-((( Copenhagen Road Safety & Active Travel Series - Post #36 Another victory for last mile transport! Electric cargo bikes in Copenhagen! In 2017 Copenhagen undertook a pilot programme to see if using electric cargo bikes could reduce the cost of transporting blood samples between hospitals in the city. The cargo bikes proved to be faster than motorised vehicles. And with the time saved more deliveries were made possible each day. This is to say nothing of the other benefits that have come from making this switch. Are there any opportunities to use cargo bikes for the ‘last mile’ in your city or town? Image: Electric cargo bikes in Copenhagen About this series: Over the next 3 months, we'll share curated snapshots of Copenhagen's streets and urban environment. Our goal is to bring more road safety and active travel learnings to Australia/New Zealand. Stay tuned! Before 1962 Copenhagen was a city dominated by cars. Since then, the city has evolved to become one of the most pedestrian and cyclist friendly places in the world. Apart from Australia’s royal connection with Denmark, several Australian cities have been strongly influenced by Danish approaches to urban design. Seeing is believing and the snapshots we’re bringing you provide an opportunity to imagine what is possible. HA Consulting Pty Ltd Acknowledging the expertise and support of Arpad Maksay Acknowledging Mo Rasooli's and Delvis Yendra's support and work on these posts as well.

While tidying up my computer, I came across a survey result that asked the people of Vilnius about their preferred way of traveling if they had no constraints. The number of people who would love to travel on foot (39%) and use public transport (19%) is fascinating! Traveling by car comes in at 16%, while 12% would prefer biking, and another 6% opt for e-scooters. These insights highlight the need to build a better city that supports these preferences! Yet, the latest modal split survey shows that only 16.5% of trips are made on foot, 26% choose public transport, 4.5% bike, and still 51% are car trips. There's still so much to be done. But preferred travel modes show that ideally (without constraints of cost, travel distance, sprawl, etc.), the car wouldn't be people's first choice. That's an assuring thought. *I found this result print-screened of survey (I guess it's from 2023 but might be from 2022) commissioned by JUDU and realized I had completely forgotten about it until now!

So, Amsterdam city break last year, Copenhagen this...and have I found active travel heaven? Sadly, not quite. Too many pluses to mention all of them, though seeing cycles used for medium length and purposeful journeys is heavenly and of course the 'normalisation' meaning few fancy bikes or gear are seen with most just left unlocked at their destination. Cyclists appear to enjoy comparable priority to motorists. Gotta love all of that that. But again, pedestrians generally seem to get short-changed, just as with Amsterdam. With increased speed and momentum comes assumed priority over the road space, just as cyclists are similarly relegated by motorists. With a pedestrian in sight there's little/no slowing or strategic avoidance in evidence even given the additional space available to do so, certainly compared to Amsterdam or London and most UK urban centres. I am naturally super-impressed by what I saw albeit again, falling-short of my hoped for mature movement culture of all-mode respect between users. Perhaps it's just the way we're made, I've got the speed and I'm gonna use it. 9.5/10

With record public transport use and more new routes than ever operating, more connected cycle paths and greenways across our towns and cities will make it far easier to choose active travel everyday.

Happy Friday! 🥳 "Thud-thud-thud" 😁 Yes, you heard right—rumble strips for bicycles! Copenhagen Road Safety & Active Travel Series - Post #32 Cyclists too love their speed, sometimes, but just like drivers, they need reminders to slow down. Here you can see rumble strips used to remind Copenhagen cyclists they are approaching a pedestrian crossing. The rumble created by the five strips and the traffic signal work together to encourage the cyclists to give way when the light changes. Have you ever come across this application of rumble strips? Video: Rumble strips installed on a bicycle lane to slow down cyclists before a pedestrian crossing. About this series: Over the next 3 months, we'll share curated snapshots of Copenhagen's streets and urban environment. Our goal is to bring more road safety and active travel learnings to Australia/New Zealand. Stay tuned! Before 1962 Copenhagen was a city dominated by cars. Since then, the city has evolved to become one of the most pedestrian and cyclist friendly places in the world. Apart from Australia’s royal connection with Denmark, several Australian cities have been strongly influenced by Danish approaches to urban design. Seeing is believing and the snapshots we’re bringing you provide an opportunity to imagine what is possible. HA Consulting Pty Ltd Acknowledging the expertise and support of Arpad Maksay Acknowledging Mo Rasooli's and Delvis Yendra's support and work on these posts as well.

Great research from the Economic and Social Research Institute in Ireland on the community’s perceptions of cycle infrastructure. https://lnkd.in/gU-2bU8r “Replacing car travel with walking and cycling is at the core of the shift to healthier and more sustainable societies,” the report says. “Implementing dedicated infrastructure is a common measure to achieve this aim. But policymakers in multiple countries regularly contend with two obstacles: designing infrastructure that people will make use of and securing public support for implementation.” The reports highlights how status-quo bias, the fear of change, informs bike lane opposition. In addition, there is a “disconnect” between active travel projects and public attitudes to climate action. People don’t “join the dots” and view cycling infrastructure as part of a wider climate action. There are some good lessons for NSW councils where the roll out of bike lanes has not always been easy: Cycle lanes grow in popularity once they are installed, but policymakers should be aware that “paternalistic” –(ie “don’t worry, you will like it”) promotion of active travel schemes can heighten opposition People, particularly objectors, benefit from seeing the change on the ground. There is much value in installing temporary bike lanes to demonstrate benefits and impacts. Bike lanes alone may not be enough to make a difference to encourage people to ride - you may need other traffic calming measures like raised crossing at junctions and reduced speeds, plus landscaping and bike parking. Communicate how projects benefit locals and pedestrians not just cyclists. Bike lanes are a tool to improve streetscapes for everyone. First impressions count. “Once opinions have formed, people can be resistant to new information that challenges them. Early, clear communication from trusted sources is likely to be the best way to inoculate against misperceptions.” Bicycle NSW #road.cc Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) City of Sydney BetterStreets #advocacy #membership #insurance #BikeIsBest

Do people in the rest of the world understand that there is a war on bikes in Ontario, Canada? Specifically, bike lanes and the option to bike to work. How many of my linkedin connections here bike to work or use the bike as a part of their commutes to work, store or other outtings? I think of some of the great cities and many of them in Europe, some in the United States and one of the best Canadian examples is Montreal. When you sit in a traffic jam somewhere and wonder - sure wish the cyclists would move out of the way for my SUV? For me, living in Shanghai at the moment in a city that is 5 times larger with a relatively strong bike lane network means I am looking at my old home of Toronto (and to be clear its not the municipal governement but the provincial government). Its also not just in Toronto.. Municipalities will have to ask permission to build out bike path programs in the future. For my public policy connections, we have a governement at the regional level that wants to take away the decision making of a municipality. Now, Ontario does have certain provincial powers over the cities but this is an overstep. Going as far as to dig up 20, 30 or 50Kms of bike lanes. How does this impact younger generations and the future of work? What sort of signal does it send to entrepreneurs and startups? Who can afford a car? This is a linkedin discussion worth having and I think again of other cities around the world that are taking pro-active steps to increase bike lane KMs/Milage. Last but not least - One of the bike lanes is called the  Tooker Gomberg. Its a marvellous achievement of what a community can do when they put their minds to it. I know there are so many huge threats and people are really anxious this week. The one thing we can do is look in our neighbourhoods and bring it down to the local level. I have to think this also impacts the ability of Toronto to say its a world class city. How can we invite the world in and say we don't have bike paths to travel around the downtown areas? Image: @greenspiration #Toronto #OntPoli #CanPoli #Transportation #Cycling #bikepaths #GreenCities #SmartCities #tourism #local #modesoftransportation #FutureofWork #TakeTheTooker #cities #publicpolicy

Navigating Challenges in Germany: A Personal Experience Recently, I encountered an unexpected challenge while traveling from Kassel to Dortmund with my bike. After a day of exploring Dortmund on two wheels, I decided to head back to Kassel, anticipating possible delays on the trains. What followed was a journey that tested my patience and adaptability. The Journey: I initially took a train from Dortmund to Hamm Bf and planned to continue directly to Kassel. However, upon reaching Hamm, I found that no trains were available to Kassel. My only option was to take a train to Paderborn, hoping to find further connections from there. Unfortunately, by the time I reached Paderborn, there were no trains or buses available until the following morning. With only a few hours of daylight left, I faced a tough decision. Google Maps indicated that it would take 50-60 minutes by car or around 5 hours by bike to reach Kassel. I chose to start cycling, hoping to find transportation along the way. The Challenge: The route was far from easy, taking me through mountains and forests, with little to no signs of civilization. I was alone, with no lights on my rented bike, and as night approached, the situation became increasingly daunting. In small towns along the way, I searched for buses, trains, or even a taxi, but nothing was available. I also tried hitchhiking, asking for help from passing cars, but no one stopped. Eventually, I contacted the police, hoping for assistance. Unfortunately, they didn't consider my situation an emergency and advised me to continue cycling home. Alone, with no water, and in the dark, this was hardly a comforting response. The Resolution: After several hours of uncertainty, I finally reached out to my Airbnb host, who helped me arrange a taxi. The ride cost me €105, but at that point, it was the only option left to reach Kassel safely. Reflecting on the Experience: This experience has left me questioning the reliability of transportation and emergency services in Germany, a country where high taxes are supposed to ensure better public services. Despite the well-developed infrastructure, the lack of options and support in such a situation was disappointing and left me feeling stranded. While I eventually made it home safely, this journey highlighted some significant gaps in the system, especially for travelers who find themselves in unexpected situations. What has been your experience with transportation in Germany or elsewhere? How do you navigate challenges like these? #Transportation #Germany #TravelChallenges #CustomerExperience #SafetyFirst