Originally posted by zkarj There are some areas that are woefully under-served by public transport and the whole of SH58 meets that criteria, including Whitby (even though it does have some buses, they were crap when I lived there).
Don't talk to me about Whitby. My wife has one of her best friends there, and we visit whenever we're in the North Island. Her friend's husband recently resigned from the council as he got frustrated with it repeatedly going against advice and allowing development where it shouldn't have occurred.
Whitby seems like it's designed to ensure the least efficient possible transport infrastructure, with hilly, twisting, not particularly wide streets, with limited exits. It's a pretty suburbia, but totally impractical.
Originally posted by zkarj Oh, something very fundamental has changed in that equation, and it's the fault of some very short sighted decision makers. The new trains DO NOT CARRY BIKES IN PEAK. How stupid is that?? Tons of bike lanes are being built around the city but you cannot get your bike into the city if you're a commuter. Same thinking that tore up Manners mall to run buses through, which basically killed off a vibrant space and didn't really solve any bus issues.
I didn't know about that, but it's something that annoys me about rail in general. I'm a casual cyclist, so not likely to do big cycle tours, but if I were to do significant local tourism leaving the car at home, my preference would be train plus bike. Trains handle long distance well, but bikes are fine for local mobility, even for people like me who might not be keen to ride more than 20-30km in a day. I'll ride considerably further occasionally, but cycling isn't a hobby, it's a means of getting from A to B - or as a photography support vehicle
- Bikes are more convenient that a car if you want to be able to stop and start just about anywhere for photo opportunities.