Commuting Alternatives: Bicycling
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Transcript
Announcer: More and more people in Indiana are choosing alternative transportation to get to work, and a growing number of Hoosiers are jumping on their bikes instead of starting up their cars. We've talked to several IDEM employees who bike to work regularly to see why they enjoy commuting on a bicycle.
Crystal Rehder: There's an element of freedom to it that you certainly don't have in the car. Especially at rush hour on the way home.
Sarah Finely: Well, I get out. It's nice to - I sit at a desk all day. It's just nice to be out.
Jon Bates: Exercise. Getting some exercise. Enjoying the fresh air and saving a little money on gas.
Phil Perry: Actually, I just enjoy biking, is probably the primary reason. But, it also reduces air pollution, saves gas, and gives me an opportunity to be outside most of the time.
Scott Johanson: You don't have to look for a parking space and it's just nice to be outside.
Announcer: What's your biggest pet peeve about commuting on a bicycle?
Phil Perry: My biggest pet peeve is having to stop. I'd rather keep riding, but if I have to stop at stoplights and intersections, I do. But I'd rather keep riding.
Anthony Rench: Probably just the cars coming too close to you. Sometimes they can splash water on you and get pretty much just too close for comfort.
Jon Bates: Chuck holes are a problem. Cars. Wild dogs. Flat tires are a big bummer.
Crystal Rehder: Vehicles who aren't respectful of the vunerablility of a bicycle also sharing the space. And the ones who tell us to get on the sidewalk, because it's actually illegal to ride on the sidewalk.
Sarah Finely: Other bikers that don't know how to obey the rules of the road. They'll ride the wrong way on one-way streets or they'll not even stop for intersections.
Announcer: How often do you ride your bike to work?
Phil Perry: I ride about three or four days a week, if I can, if the weather is nice. I ride, it takes me 15 miles to get in to work.
Crystal Rehder: I bike every day, pretty much.
Announcer: All the time?
Crystal Rehder: All the time. All year. But it's only two miles.
Scott Johanson: Usually, we'll ride five days a week and we go about three miles, one way, so six miles round-trip.
Anthony Rench: I do fall spring, and summer. I usually don't ride in the winter.
Announcer: What's the one thing you would change about your bicycle commute?
Crystal Rehder: More lanes, more bike lanes would be nice. Even better would be bike lanes that aren't going to get 'doored' by parking... people on the side.
Anthony Rench: Definitely more lanes to ride in because a lot of the roads, you've got to ride with cars, so a lane would be nice for bicycle riders.
Sarah Finely: I'd like more access. I'd also like for the people to understand the rules of the road a little better. The bikers actually have to act as legal vehicles on the road.
Announcer: As you can see, riding a bike on your daily commute can be a rewarding alternative to driving a car. You can save money, get some fresh air, and reduce driving time during rush hour, which helps out Indiana air quality. To find out more about biking to work, visit www.bicycleindiana.org.
