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The newest addition to Hawaii’s transportation sector is bike sharing. We all met Biki in June, a system of 100 stations and 1,000 bikes. In its first month it was widely
reported that more than 47,000 rides were logged.
To put that into perspective, that’s about 20,000 more than the number of monthly visitors to the Waikiki Aquarium and about
8,000 under the number
of monthly visitors to the Honolulu Zoo.
I’ve been biking to work for the past 18 months, so the activity around bike infrastructure excites me. Every time I see my grandma, she asks, “Are you still biking to work?” I nod my head yes. Shaking her head, she says, “You have to be careful. I worry about you.” Here’s an open letter to my grandma letting her know why I choose to bike:
Dear Grandma,
It’s Lauren, your oldest grandchild. I know you’re worried about me biking to work, but let me explain why I do it:
1. Biking is efficient, driving is not. It takes me no more than 30 minutes to get to work, from the door of my house near Monsarrat Avenue to the lobby of my office on Bishop Street. When school is in session, about 75 percent of the year, it takes me the same amount of time to drive that same route. On TheBus it would take me almost an hour.
2. It’s economical. I’ve done the math. Parking downtown costs somewhere between $200 and $400 a month, or $12 per day. Multiply that by 18 months, the amount of time I’ve been biking to work, and that’s $3,600. My bike cost $400. I’ve bought two because one got stolen, so let’s double the cost of my bike to $800. What about electric vehicles? You’re right, if I had an electric vehicle, I wouldn’t have an argument here since they can park for free in state garages.
3. I know it’s not my bank account or my time that you’re concerned about; you’re most worried about my safety. If you’re pegging this against me driving, I have about six more years of biking experience than I have driving experience. I first learned how to be a biker in the fourth grade at Nuuanu Elementary School’s bike education program. The first time I got behind the wheel of a car was at age 15. If practice makes perfect, I’ve had a lot more practice biking.
I understand that I’m not the average commuter, and cities are typically designed for its average citizen. I’m only one in 60,000 commuters in Hawaii who bike to work. Out of a population of about 1.4 million, that’s only 4 percent of the population that doesn’t drive, walk or take public transit. But I believe cities are dynamic and the average is ever-changing. Cities are becoming more multimodal. Bike sharing and bike infrastructure are just the most recent evolution. It excites me to think of what’s next.
Lauren Tonokawa is head of the communications team at the Energy Excelerator. She’s a graduate of the University of Hawaii. Reach her at laurentonokawa@gmail.com.
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