The Cyclist
Bicycle Security in The City
Joe on His Bicycle in The City
According to fact sheet (2011) there
are twice as many bicycles in the world as automobiles. In recent years’ bike
production has climbed to over 100 million bikes per year in comparison to 50
million cars. The top leading countries that use bicycles are China where the
population is 1,342,700,000 and the bicycle count is more than 500,000,000 and
second leading is the country of Belgium.
Travelling to big cities one may recognise that we use of automobiles is
more prominent but traveling to places such as New York City, one would observe
that City Bank has implemented a system where persons pay to use bikes to
travel around the city. However, these bicycles are timed and if they are not
return in the slot by a certain time the person riding would be charged and
extra fee. As a tourist in the Big City it is very fascinating to see this
happening because in little islands such Trinidad and Barbados bicycles are
used by many patrons to get to their destination.
As one walks along the streets of Port
of Spain one may notice that person take security measures to keep their cycles
safe when leaving then unattended. Just as when person get a car they install
alarms to ensure that persons are unable to steal their vehicles.
For many people cycling is just a
hobby whereas there are some persons who use it as their daily mode of
transportation to get from place to place. From my early childhood it was as if
it was mandatory to learn to ride a bicycle but I was restricted to just my
neighbourhood and I have never tackled the highways and streets with my cycle
due to transport being readily available for me. In Port of Spain it we spotted
a person hoping onto their cycle and we caught his attention and he slowed down
and had quit an educational discussion with him where he encouraged us to stay
in school and he is proud to see young people out here trying to do better in
the country than causing corruption. With perspiration running down his face
from the hot sun, he stated to us that he would go by the name of Joe. This
encourage man by the name of Joe stated that the he has been riding this bike
for over 25 years and has no intentions of giving it up any time soon. He
stated to us that he changes it every 5 years and if he can’t he replaces some
of the replaces some of the parts to ensure that it is kept in a good
condition. We asked him why he choose this mode of transport, he laughed and
said he doesn’t have to put gas in his bike and also he doesn’t live to far
from the Port of Spain area where his job and most of “vibes” are located. He
said some years ago his bike was stolen and it made him to consider buying a
vehicle but he took the bus for a while after the thief and then got the
courage to purchase another bike as he stated in a very funny manner.
We followed by asking him if he
thinks a lane should be only dedicated to bicycles but stated that the law is
not cut out for the poor man and this country would never put that into place.
We followed by asking why he stated that the law is not cut out for the poor
man, he stated that is just the way the world works and sated to us that he has
to go and it was nice talking to us.
The Geography of Transport System
website looks at the use of bicycles as a sustainable movement however an
extremely difficult challenge considering the prominence that the automobile is
achieving worldwide. Thus, alternatives such as bicycles can be provided if
they prove to be cost effective while fulfilling a niche demand. Hence Trinidad
should implement a bicycle system to start the trend of sustainability in
Trinidad.
Happy Reading J
Sources:
·
capita/ps://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch8en/conc8en/ch8c4en.html
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