The Spark of an Integrated Cycling Network?

The Taiwan News reports that the government is working on creating an "intelligent system" (yes... I know... government and intelligent system) for managing "cycling convoys".

First, I have to say that I am thrilled they chose the term "convoy". It brings back the old, inspiring C.W. McColl tune (Yes, this is in my ipod for biking).

The system, consisting of a global positioning system (GPS) and online map technologies, automatically issues a warning to the leader of a bike convoy equipped with smartphones when any member of the group lags far behind, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a recent statement.

"When you get lost or have a flat tire, all you have to do is to press a button and you can immediately inform others of your situation," the ministry said.

The system is aimed not just at enhancing the safety of cyclists but also to help them share their fun, according to the ministry.

"Bikers can use a feature to share photos or videos with their family members to show where they are and what they have seen along the trip," the statement said.

What the article does not tell us is: Who is eligible to use the service? How does one apply for access the service? Can be used by non-Mandarin speakers to accommodate foreign visitors.

It sounds proactive and intriguing, but so do unicorns. It also sounds a lot like something that can be achieved with existing cell-phone technology. If I get a flat I can call the leader. If I want to share photos I can capture and send. Most modern cell-phones have GPS and mapping applications. Hmmmm!

The U.S.B.R.S. and Taiwan's Potential

In the past I have blogged a little bit about Taiwan's need and potential for an integrated bicycle-only transportation grid. Taiwan has several independent bicycle paths and some routes that are designated for bicycles, but these are often barely functional election-day pork that mix cycles and cement trucks, or leisure paths for weekenders. Lawmakers insist bicycles should be classified as slow moving vehicles, yet the reality remains that bicycles are regarded as toys for recreation by the government reps with the funding.

In the United States a group of cyclists and citizens has come up with the U.S.B.R.S. or United States Bicycle Route System; an interstate system designated for bicycles. The system includes a National Corridor Plan that links major metropoles through bicycle routes to take the particular needs of bicycles into consideration as they do with the needs of drivers. The system links the entire country by bicycle route. This could be an expensive system to maintain and police in a country the size of the U.S.A.

Taiwan is smaller and densely populated enough to give an integrated cycling network an infrastructure to build from. It will take administrative sincerity to get something like this done... and we know the powers behind the curtain of Taiwanese politics never saw an infrastructure project they didn't like. The right people just need to figure out how to make money out of an integrated system. It is possible. My recent trip to Kaohsiung reminded me how far a person can go on a bike, and how much of the infrastructure is built around the automobile. Still, Taiwanese love the idea and romance behind the mythic "Round Island" bike trip. If only it could be done safer and better supported, more people would be willing to give it a try.

They key is interagency cooperation and coordination to quit wasting tax dollars on bike paths to nowhere and put the power of the pedal to work with a direction toward connectivity.

Anyway, something for Taiwanese cyclists to think about.

Taiwan Review on Taiwan's Future in Cycles

The Taiwan Review has a lengthy article, full of propaganda puff from the Government Information Office, about the government's plans to integrate cycling into the transportation matrix.

In July 2009 and January this year, Lin was among the government officials and experts who reported to Republic of China (ROC) President Ma Ying-jeou in the presidential office about the establishment of biking path networks around Taiwan. In response to these opinion leaders and given the increasing popularity of biking activities, the president called for policies and regulations specifically covering bicycles, as well as the integration of bicycles with other mainstream means of transportation.

The word "Taiwan" doesn't appear until the third paragraph... just sayin'

Lin points out that, in contrast to the strong commitment to biking seen in some foreign cities such as London and Paris, however, cycling has been promoted in Taiwan at the central government level, with the result that resources have been spread somewhat sparsely across the country...

I blogged about this earlier, contrasting Taiwan's dislocated and inefficient system with the Seattle Master Plan.

Although the MOTC is moving to take the lead for national biking policy, projects to develop local bike paths continue to be financed by the Ministry of the Interior’s Construction and Planning Agency (CPA) and the Cabinet-level Sports Affairs Council (SAC). According to a construction plan by the SAC, a budget of NT$4 billion (US$125 million) will be devoted to the development of an integrated network of biking paths around Taiwan from 2009 to 2012, continuing similar efforts started by the council in the early 2000s for sport and recreational purposes.

You can see by the alphabet soup above, how bureaucratic divisions, budget rivalries and lack of cross-agency communication can impede the process of integrating cycling into the transportation grid. To expand on the paragraph above, it is obvious that cycling in Taiwanese officialdom is neither transportation nor a sport.

Despite the great controversy and initial complaints from car drivers and motorcyclists about designated biking lanes on Dunhua Road in Taipei City, Liu says the city government will stick to its program to develop and maintain a network of bike paths in downtown Taipei. As for the quieter areas in local communities, which Liu notes are already a favorable environment for cycling, speed limits for motorized vehicles will be reduced to ensure a more carefree, safer ride.

This disaster has been criticized repeatedly for its deeply flawed conception, construction and effectiveness. Rather than add another transportation debacle to the growing list compiled by the Ma/Hao Mayoral administrations in Taipei, the city government will do what it does best---nothing.

While the Urban Road Act has yet to include bicycles explicitly, as some critics and activists call for, the Legislative Yuan did pass an amendment to the Highway Law toward the end of 2007 allowing for specific lanes for bicyclists and pedestrians on existing roads or alternative routes. Generally speaking, bicyclists are supposed to travel in the slow traffic lane—the lane nearest the side of the road—but sometimes they forget that they are more vulnerable than motorcyclists and car drivers, leading to quite a few traffic accidents, says the MOTC’s Lin Kuo-shian. “More often than not, bicyclists are unclear about whether they’re using a ‘vehicle’ or are just a faster moving pedestrian,” he says.

Despite the high election year talk, cyclists are still largely off the radar and weren't even included in the URA. What gets me about this paragraph is the "blame the cyclist" approach. I have blogged on traffic safety before, and the overwhelming factor in Taiwan's dangerous streets is the lack of willing enforcement. If traffic enforcement is regular, fair and consistent, the drivers learn to expect it and drive accordingly. I know this. In college I was a parking officer. It works.