The Mobility Pyramid
Does your mode of transportation match the needs of your journey?
Humans obviously need to move around. Locomotion is one of the most basic parts of the human existence. We need to move to get food, to find a mate, to live a productive life. Then why are we so bad at it?
Maybe bad isn't the right word. Perhaps we're just inefficient. We're inefficient in the way that we walk and run. Our form and stride lengths are typically less than ideal and often cause unnecessary pain and fatigue.
And because we’ve been so inefficient getting around by foot, we’ve built tools to help us get around better. We always talk about not needing to reinvent the wheel, but maybe it could actually use an update.
I'm just kidding, the wheel itself is fine. The bigger issue is the way that we're using wheels. The problem lies in the vehicles that we are attaching them to. It's the number of them that we're using for any given task. There really should be a better hierarchy of transportation.
What do I mean by that?
Well, walking should be our first choice for mobility. It’s essentially the base of our mobility pyramid. When you're able to walk somewhere, that should be your choice. It's easy. It's free. Nearly all of us can do it. It doesn’t harm the environment (unless you step on a bunch of plants and bugs) What's not to like?
Ok, well what if your destination is just a bit too far away to comfortably walk? Well in that case, you should look to the humble bicycle. You go from no wheels to two wheels just like that. Sure, you could theoretically hop on a unicycle that could make things even simpler, but it's not as easy to balance and less practical for the general population.
There are obviously different types of bikes. Maybe you start off with a slower bike and work your way up to some of the more advanced options with complicated gear systems. Then maybe you even graduate to a bike with an electric motor when you need to cover more distance in a shorter amount of time.
Yes, the e-bike is the key! If you’ve been reading my work for a while, you know how bullish I am on the e-bike as a vital part of our transportation future. It can get you around to your most common destinations in a way that is both efficient with your time and easy on the environment. It is a win-win for everyone.
And what if you need to carry some things? No problem, there is a cargo bike for that. There are in fact a wide variety of cargo bikes for that. You could have a mid-tail or a long-tail where you keep all of your precious cargo behind you. Or you could just use a bakfiets or front-loader bike to haul all of your necessities in the front where they stay within your reach and vision.
This should be the predominant form of transportation for most people!
Only when the limitations of the e-bike are met, should we move up the ladder to the next tier of mobility. The automobile.
The car is an amazing invention. It has far more speed than most bikes and it will allow you to carry more passengers and cargo. And you can cover much greater distances in much greater comfort. But it shouldn't be the default form of transportation. It should be the special exception when walking and cycling just won't do. It should be higher up on our pyramid. The higher up on the pyramid, the less often it’s used.
As a society, we should think of automobile trips as the luxury that they are. Sure, it's better for the earth if your automobile runs on something besides fossil fuels (electricity, hydrogen, etc.) but it's still a large piece of metal that is overkill for most tasks. And while it’s great to drive a car that isn’t spewing exhaust fumes, it can still take its toll on the quality and longevity of the roads.
And of course, the next level up on the pyramid would be air travel. The cost of flying still naturally limits the frequency that we do it to some extent. But even if you’re finding deals on those plane tickets, we should do our best to limit our air travel to the times when it truly is necessary. Don’t get me wrong, I love traveling probably more than the average person, but I also understand the impact that flights can have on the environment. Of course, the good thing is that many commercial flights are fully filled with people. So at least we are maximizing the cargo load and efficiency of the trip. Those of you out there flying around on private jets should probably think even harder about when it makes sense to take that trip!
You wouldn't use a giant chef's knife for every task in the kitchen would you? You could certainly butter a piece of toast with a big sharp knife, but you'd be better suited to use a smaller butter knife.
The same goes for your travel needs. You could use a giant mini-van to drive yourself half a mile to the post office to mail a letter, but that task is perfectly suitable for any bicycle.
Let's just think more about how we choose or modes of transportation!
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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