Gas prices in the Greater Victoria Area are sitting at around $2.09 per litre, according to GasBuddy.com. That has people rethinking their mode of transportation, including David Lacey.
Lacey spends about 35 minutes every day commuting from Colwood to Saanich for work. Most days, he commutes by bike, adding that he only uses his car to travel to work less than a dozen times a year. Earlier this week he decided to test out which mode of transportation was most efficient.
“I want my kids to be able to see that you don’t need to drive everywhere,” said Lacey, who is a toolroom attendant at Camosun College.
Over a three-day period, Lacey recorded statistics from driving a car, pedalling a bike, and riding an e-bike to work. After travelling nearly 12 kilometres, he found some surprising results.
When driving, Lacey says it took him 36 minutes to drive to work. Similarly, pedalling only took him 34 minutes. But, according to his data, he spent 97 per cent of the time travelling, and only 3 per cent of his commute stationed. When Lacey took his car, he found he was only moving 75 percent of the time due to traffic.
“I didn’t think I would’ve been sitting that long [sic] stationary,” said Lacey.
His e-bike results were even more shocking to him. He was able to commute in 24 minutes, averaging the highest speed at almost 30 km/h.
“It’s just more enjoyable. I feel really energized when I get to work,” said Lacey.
A lack of public transportation is what inspired Lacey to commute by bike instead of a vehicle and wants others to join in. However, he says that lack of transportation, weather, and other factors may drive some away from switching over.
“Safe bike routes is another huge thing, you know. If people don’t feel comfortable jumping on their bike, mixing with traffic, they’re not going to ride,” said Lacey.
Lacey says providing more bike-friendly trails would convince more drivers to become bikers.
Oli Herrera
