The " Two Wheeled " Armada !

When we view a scene from a city in Asia it is the use of two wheeled transport that is overwhelming.  When China was a relatively undeveloped nation this brought scenes of thousands of people on bicycles, but as prosperity gained a hold that scene changed to motorcycles and scooters. 

This moving mass of two wheeled transport was the changing scene in China, Vietnam and our nearest neighbour, Indonesia, but in recent times the use of two wheeled transport has risen sharply here in Australia.

The statistics are compelling.  The number of motorcycles registered in New South Wales in 2000 numbered  87,291 and this increased to 249,487 by December, 2020.  There was a similar increase in scooter registrations which climbed from 945 to 12,600 in that same period.

To some extent, this may be attributed to the coronvirus lockdown. A motorcycle is cheaper to buy than a car, and a motorcycle is more expensive to purchase than a lower powered scooter, and both offer a significant saving in registration and insurance costs .   The fuel they consume for the same distance travelled is more economical when compared to a car.

It seems that when both income and job security were threatened by the coronavirus pandemic car sales stalled as the economics of two wheeled transport took hold.  Our traffic flow now contains an ever growing mix of motorcycles and scooters and there is no reason to expect this to decrease in the future.

A rider on a motorcycle or scooter has less protection than a person in a car and is subjected to the same road rules, but they also take less space to park and that is being ignored when city parking plans are implemented.  In recent times, bicycle travel is being promoted by the creation of special bike lanes and both motorcycles and scooters are excluded.  Bicycles completely evade registration and insurance costs

It is interesting to compare car growth for that same period..  Car registrations in 2000 totalled 2.61 million passenger vehicles and that increased to 2.99 million in December, 2020., but designated parking spaces for two wheeled vehicles actually decreased over that same period.

It is evident that the change to electric propulsion applies to both cars and two wheeled vehicles but the innovation of self driving transport will most likely be restricted to four wheel vehicles.  The economics of motorcycles and scooters may persist as that form of transport delivers a form of independence missing from the driverless car.

 What is evident is that the two wheeled revolution has arrived in Australia and parking arrangements need to accommodate the growing numbers  Street parking clearly favours cars and yet the space reserved for a single car can park several two wheeled vehicles.

We are building new car parks at railway hubs and once again the needs of the two wheeled brigade are being ignored.  Whether we like it or not, Australia is part of Asia and this two wheeled phenomenon has burst on the local transport scene and will be an integral part of our future.

It can not continue to be ignored  !