Motorcycles, hybrids, and buses, oh my.

[Alarick]

Just curious about how many people are looking at either using public transportation more, or buying a more fuel efficient mode of transportation like a motorcyle, hybrid, bicycle, or roller skates?

[helen]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and busses oh my.

I tend to use TheBus a lot. Some times I take the taxi if I am in a rush or I need to carry more than one piece of stuff. It's been a while since I rented a car.

[kimo55]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and busses oh my.

screw that noise, jack.
just make more money.
need both my van and rodeo isuzu
fill to the brim with props and equipment for whatever shoot

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and busses oh my.

Just curious about how many people are looking at either using public transportation more, or buying a more fuel efficient mode of transportation like a motorcyle, hybrid, bicycle, or roller skates?

I remember when Corbin Motors (prior to filing bankruptcy) came out with the one-seater rods. I wanted a "Merlin Coupe", but this would not be practical having to truck around the hubby, kidlings, and whatnot.

http://www.herelectricvehicle.com/corbin.html

I like the idea of those hybrids, but they are too new for my comfort. I need to know that my blue-collar-brokanic can fix da buggah before I trow down dat kine scrips.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and busses oh my.

Hybrids are a great interim until we can become fully disengaged from petroleum based fuels. I used to work for the Gas Company and we drove a red Ford F150 with the Clean Cities logo on it, for several years. This was their basic V8 engine that primarily ran on propane for clean air (exhaust is carbon dioxide and water...stuff a human being exhales) and a two gallon gasoline tank when you ran out of propane.

One problem with all electric cars from what I understand is that for Oahu it takes more crude oil to supply electricity to charge an electric car's batteries then it takes for a refinery to refine gasoline to power a similarly efficient gasoline engine on a car. Plus the emissions from Kahe power plant to burn fossil fuels to create electricity to charge an electric vehicle is greater than the emissions from a gasoline powered automobile.

Another problem with electric cars is the lead acid held within those batteries. Imagine getting involved in a major car accident and all that battery acid erupts from crumpled batteries and sprays all over the car's occupants. The DOT has strict guidelines on gasoline tanks but hasn't made any guidelines on battery acid containment.

So with all the problems with electric cars, hybrids offer the best compromise with available technologies. As newer and safer fuel cell technologies develop and as we become less dependant on fossil fuels to power our electric plants only then will we see a major shift to all electric vehicles.

The problem with busses is that they are being driven all day long and one can only wonder if a standard city bus running all day and all night long saves gas and pollutes less than however many cars it displaces. Remember these displaced cars shut down once at their destination and back. A city bus is running when these cars aren't. Plus the wear and tear on our streets is greater with heavy busses running over them more frequently than a parked car. So is riding the bus creating more or less pollution and road destruction than the number of automobiles it displaces in any given day? It's definately easing the traffic congestion however if you've ever followed a city bus townbound on Kapiolani BLVD, these busses create more traffic because of the frequent stops.

I think busses do more harm to the environment than cars and if saving the planet is your main concern, then I think sitting traffic in your own car is better for the earth than riding the bus based on that arguement. If you gotta do the mass transit thing it's better to carpool.

Now motorcycles...yeah uses less gasoline but like cars you have to abide by the same traffic laws so if you're on a motorcycle and stuck in traffic, you cannot glide between idling cars by driving between them. That's against the law and you cannot do that to justify having a motorcycle over a car.

[Alarick]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and busses oh my.

Now motorcycles...yeah uses less gasoline but like cars you have to abide by the same traffic laws so if you're on a motorcycle and stuck in traffic, you cannot glide between idling cars by driving between them. That's against the law and you cannot do that to justify having a motorcycle over a car.

Actually 45+ MPG was my justification for buying a motorcycle, the rest is just naughty (and very dangerous) perks

The bike will wind up being my primary mode of transportation unless i need to have a passenger, or pick up more than a backpacks worth of things.

[Eric]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and busses oh my.

I've been bicycling to work for about a year now. At first it was mainly for exercise, but now I'm glad I'm not hunting for street parking every morning. On the weekends I still drive, but at least my gasoline refilling stops have gone down in frequency from once a week to more like once a month.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and buses, oh my.

I used to bike to work and back before...until one day I just got tired of avoiding the potholes on Kapiolani BLVD and the errant city bus squeezing you between it's side panels and the curbing. I figured I'd take my chance and die someday from coronary heart disease problems instead of anyday I attempt to co-mingle with the morning and afternoon city traffic.

[Composite 2992]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and buses, oh my.

We got a Honda hybrid a couple of years ago. Right after that there was a waiting list for them. I wonder how long that list is now? We had a KIA Spectra that was just a little bigger that could barely get 26 MPG. So we dumped it in favor of the Honda.

The Honda Civic Hybrid is getting about 46 miles per gallon, averaged over the past 2000 miles.

Regarding the fossil fuels burned by the Kahe power plant, it uses the sludge left over after the cracking plants extract gasoline and other fuels from crude oil. If the power plant didn't burn it, that sludge would have to be shipped elsewhere for disposal.

[Alarick]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and buses, oh my.

I'm kinda surprised to hear that a KIA Spectra got such poor gas milage, my Z28 Camaro that has a 5.7L V8 gets about 23 city, 30 highway.

[MadAzza]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and busses oh my.

Now motorcycles...yeah uses less gasoline but like cars you have to abide by the same traffic laws so if you're on a motorcycle and stuck in traffic, you cannot glide between idling cars by driving between them. That's against the law and you cannot do that to justify having a motorcycle over a car.

"And you kids get off my lawn!"

[pzarquon]

Motorcycles, hybrids, and buses, oh my.

Now motorcycles...yeah uses less gasoline but like cars you have to abide by the same traffic laws so if you're on a motorcycle and stuck in traffic, you cannot glide between idling cars by driving between them. That's against the law and you cannot do that to justify having a motorcycle over a car.

Reminds me of when I was a serious bicyclist. There are many things I enjoyed about pedal power, and I had more than a few run-ins with motorists who had aggressive attitudes towards cyclists... but what really ticked me off the most was when I saw other bicyclists doing bone-headed things. Weaving through traffic, hopping on and off the sidewalk (especially in districts where it's not allowed), running lights... I realized that if I were a motorist dealing with that kind of stupidity, I'd be a bit unfriendly to bicyclists as a class, as well.

When motorcycles zip through gridlocked H-1 between lanes, I keep hoping and hoping that one of them meets an unkind end when a bus changes lanes. Or at least gets knocked over by an SUV's overextended steel mirror assembly. (I'd drive past and do a Simpson-esque "Ha ha!" ) And when, once in a blue moon, a cop nabs a motorcycle flying down the shoulder lane? I practically want to stop and shake that cop's hand personally.

Seriously, I think two-wheeled travelers don't get enough respect overall. But just like there are all kinds of drivers, there are all kinds of riders.

Don't even get me started on HOV lane cheats. I can't stand that our government spends money to promote carpooling and the zipper lane as defenses against high gas prices and travel times, but spends little on enforcement. What's the point, then? I thought it was great they were considering adding hybrid cars to the HOV/zipper lane "allowed list," but again, if no one's checking... it's just another lane.

[MadAzza]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and buses, oh my.

When motorcycles zip through gridlocked H-1 between lanes, I keep hoping and hoping that one of them meets an unkind end when a bus changes lanes. Or at least gets knocked over by an SUV's overextended steel mirror assembly. (I'd drive past and do a Simpson-esque "Ha ha!" ) And when, once in a blue moon, a cop nabs a motorcycle flying down the shoulder lane? I practically want to stop and shake that cop's hand personally.

Why do you care if I go up the shoulder? Am somehow hurting you or getting in your way? If the cops do it, why shouldn't I? And they do it -- I see it every day on the way to work, on the H1 between Likelike and Vineyard.

My bike is air- and oil-cooled, but mostly air-cooled. No radiator. If there's a wreck up ahead and we're all just inching along, my bike will start to overheat. Once it seizes, we're talking a LOT of money to get it fixed, plus I won't have any way to get around in the meantime. Damn right I'm going up the shoulder when I feel it getting hot.

It frightens me to think that you and others like you actually want me to get KILLED because I'm trying to save my engine. Think about what you wrote (which I quoted). Because someone on a motorcycle is moving efficiently through traffic, for whatever reason, and you're not, you want that motorcyclist to be injured or killed. That's some pretty intense hostility.

Even IF I were just going up the shoulder because I felt like it, why on Earth would that bother you or anyone else? Because you're stuck in traffic and miserable, *everyone* should be stuck in traffic and miserable? Tell you what -- next time we're in a jam, I'll hop over and sit in YOUR air-conditioned comfort and park my bike on the side of the road so it doesn't overheat, and you can drive me to work and back. How's that sound?

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and buses, oh my.

Driving a motorcycle between two lanes of traffic is called lane splitting, and in Hawai‘i it's illegal. I couldn't find a citation for driving on the shoulder, but if cops can give you a ticket for it, then I guess it must be illegal too.

Whether it's so bad for your engine to be idling in traffic that you have to keep moving no matter what, well, I wouldn't know. I'm no mechanic. But it would seem that that's an engine design issue, not a license for you to break the law.

[§291C-153] Operating motorcycles on roadways laned for traffic. (a) All motorcycles are entitled to full use of a lane and no motor vehicle shall be driven in such a manner as to deprive any motorcycle of the full use of a lane. This subsection shall not apply to motorcycles operated two abreast in a single lane.

(b) The operator of a motorcycle shall not overtake and pass in the same lane occupied by the vehicle being overtaken.

(c) No person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles.

(d) Motorcycles shall not be operated more than two abreast in a single lane.

(e) Subsections (b) and (c) shall not apply to police officers in the performance of their official duties. [L 1971, c 150, pt of §1]

(HRS 291C )

[MadAzza]

Re: Motorcycles, hybrids, and buses, oh my.

Whether it's so bad for your engine to be idling in traffic that you have to keep moving no matter what, well, I wouldn't know.

Do you think I'm lying?

Lane splitting is legal in California because the police want to be able to do it. Here, the police do whatever they damn well want, and to hell with everyone else. Perhaps you've noticed this. Well, I don't play by those rules. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.

On occasion, while stuck in really bad traffic jams with my engine overheating, I have asked uniformed police officers (when I can find them) if I can ride on the shoulder until my engine cools. Without exception, I have been told to go right ahead. I'm talking about traffic jams caused by accidents, when nobody is moving. If I'm moving, even a little, I'm usually OK.

Let me repeat that: Uniformed Honolulu police officers have given me permission to ride on the shoulder.

If they say it's OK, I don't really see why it's anyone else's business. I don't understand the unabashed hostility of people who say things like, "I hope someone opens a car door in front of that guy." (By the way, anyone who does that can enjoy their time in prison, because intentionally harming someone who's lane splitting is illegal, too -- and carries a far greater penalty than lane splitting.)

Glen and Ryan: I'd love to know why you think lane splitting should be punishable by death. Have you ever driven even 1 mph over the speed limit? Well, dear hearts, that is illegal, too. What if I told you, "I hope a bus pulls out in front of you next time you exceed the speed limit by 1 mph." How would you like that? Is that a mature response? Do you really believe that such bizarre hostility is warranted?