Is it time to show the authorities that motorcycles really do count and bring back Ride to Work Day?
International Ride it Work Day is being celebrated tomorrow June 15, 2015, in many parts of the word, but not in Australia.
Ride to Work started out as an informal concept in 1992 in the US and is now adopted in the UK, France, Germany, Turkey and a number of South American countries.
It’s been tried in a couple of Australia states, but the last one seems to have been in NSW in 2009. While motorcyclists have given it away, the concept has been successfully hijacked by cyclists.
Maybe it’s time to hijack it back!
Representatives of rider groups say the middle of winter is not a good time to have a Ride to Work day, but suggest that another day would be better and that “anything that promote motorcycling is a good idea”.
It certainly is, especially now lane filtering is becoming so popular. Lane filtering not only makes the ride to work quicker, but also helps motorists by easing traffic congestion.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, around 6 million cars commute on Australian roads every day. An estimated 110,000 motorcycles and scooters are a regular part of this mix.
Imagine if more drivers who own a motorcycle left their car keys at home and took the bike.
A 2012 study by Belgian transport specialist TML found that if just 10% of car commuters decided to ride a motorcycle, it would mean 40% less congestion and 6% less pollution. If 25% swapped cars for bikes there would be no congestion.
We don’t expect 10% of four-wheel commuters own a motorcycle as well, but there must be many who do own one.
If you’re one of those, why not take your bike tomorrow and make a difference?
There are stats that show riding to work is as much as 20% faster, although that would depend on the route and whether lane filtering is allowed in your state.
Still, it definitely is faster. Plus it’s less polluting, frees up more parking spaces and it’s more fun!
Tomorrow, millions around the world will ignore the weather, skip the bus, leave the car keys at home and fire up the bike for Ride to Work Day.
Millions of people on bikes should make other motorists take notice how it affects their commuting times and how many parking spaces it frees up.
International Ride to Work Day is recognised as the world’s biggest single motorcycle-based event based on the numbers of participants.
Isn’t it about time Australia got involved again? Have your say in the comments section below.