HUMAN POWER: ‘Wheel” potential for this sustainability initiative
By Dave Jones of Dateline UCDavis
Groundskeeper Mike Griffith is among the one-quarter of Davis campus employees who bicycle to work. But Griffith takes it a step farther. Actually, he keeps on pedaling — after switching from his commute bike to his work bike.
Not just any old bike, but a professional-grade three-wheeler with heavy suspension, 21 gears and hydraulically operated rear disk brakes — and a custom-made cargo bed to haul his work gear, or loads of dirt and mulch.
“This is UC Davis-friendly,” said Griffith, whose 20-year career with Buildings and Grounds puts him smack-dab in the middle of a sea of bicycles every day as he rakes and prunes and sprays.
In switching to the work bike, Griffith voluntarily gave up his gas-powered cart — the ultimate in environmentally friendly gestures.“This is in line with the campus philosophy,” Griffith said. In fact, the campus sustainability committee awarded a $2,145 grant to help buy what Griffith calls a “human powered utility vehicle.”
Buildings and Grounds, Transportation and Parking Services, and Fleet Services also contributed to the purchase price. The total cost (not counting lock, brake lights and a bell, courtesy of the Bike Barn): $3,432, compared with $5,000 to $7,000 for a new power cart.
It was all Griffith’s idea. The UC Davis graduate — he earned a bachelor’s degree in managerial economics while going to school part-time and holding down his grounds keeping job — co-wrote the grant application, researched and test-drove the various work bikes on the market, and made the purchase.
“Mike is incredibly motivated about this,” said Cary Avery, grounds superintendent with Buildings and Grounds. “We are very proud of him.”
The bike arrived on March 4, and, so far, so good, Griffith said. “This bike will do all of the work that the other carts will do,” he said. The bike fits around all the bollards and gates that keep cars and trucks off various paths around campus, and the cargo bed can carry 600 pounds.
The bed is built on the same chassis that the Broomfield, Colo., manufacturer uses for its pedicabs. For the UC Davis bike, Main Street Pedicabs painted the bike and bed in Aggie blue, and affixed the Buildings and Grounds logo on both sides of the bed.
At Griffith’s request, the manufacturer cut down the sides of the bed to 16 inches, providing easier access. The bed also features a drop-down gate.
Griffith spoke with Dateline one afternoon last week while transferring a load of mulch from the cargo bed to a planter outside the west entry garage.
His duties also include trash pickup in the six-story garage — and that means pedaling up the ramps. “It’s a little more effort, but it’s not that bad,” he said. “This keeps me in shape for basketball.”
The work bike is also easy on his ears. “That’s the first thing I noticed — no noise,” he said.
“Also notable is the reduction in air pollution and natural resource consumption,” he wrote in a follow-up letter to the sustainability committee. “Additionally, the purchase cost was less than our gas-run work vehicles, the maintenance cost will be reduced considerably, and fuel cost will be zero.”
Griffith recalled that when he started with the grounds division in 1988, he used a handcart to haul his work gear, and some of his colleagues used wheelbarrows. The gas-powered and electric carts came later.
“Some people might think this is a step back,” he said. “But once you get on this, it’s not that hard.”
Griffith said he is getting a lot of positive comments from his co-workers — “a lot of thumbs-up” — and he hopes other departments take notice and consider acquiring work bikes if appropriate.
“It’s absolutely a step forward,” he said. “It’s not just about what it’s doing for the environment, but what it’s doing for my department’s budget.”
And maybe for the campus budget as a whole. Indeed, Griffith said, as he made progress on turning his work bike idea into reality, what began as an individual effort turned into a campus community project, “because of the number of people who freely offered their expertise and support to make this happen.”
“They deserve credit as well. I truly appreciate their help.”
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Restriction on rickshaw movement fails to stop traffic jam in city
Mahbubur Rahman Khan
Imposing ban on rickshaw movement on different roads of the capital could not stop traffic jam rather it accentuated the economic woes of people, pushed more rickshaw pullers into poverty trap and created transport problem for a large number of commuters.
Hundreds of poor people in the capital mange their bare necessities of life by pulling rickshaw. The earnings of the rickshaw pullers, however meager, could make dent on poverty and alleviate sufferings of their family members in the countryside at least to some extent. Rickshaw pullers of the Dhaka city remit about tk 2 crore to their village homes each month. But imposition of ban on rickshaw movement on certain roads in the capital has robbed a good number of rickshaw pullers of their means of livelihood, according to Human Resource Centre (HRC).
The revenue earnings of the government from the rickshaw related industry and trade are much higher than those of the small automobiles. The government earned Tk 1,980 crore in revenue from rickshaw sector compared to Tk 64 crore from small automobiles in 2004-05 fiscal, said a report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
Rickshaws in Dhaka city alone save fuel worth Tk 5,000 core every year and the yearly savings from the point of environment stand at Tk 10,000 crore, said a survey report of Paribash Bachao Andolon (PABA),an NGO.
There is no updated statistics on the actual number of rickshaws plying on different roads in the capital. Its number varies from two lakh to five lakh.
Imposition of ban on non-automobile transports on particular roads could not stop traffic congestion. A survey conducted by Human Development Resource Centre (HDRC) in 2004 found that the expenditure of rickshaw users has increased after the ban on rickshaws. Ban on the movement of rickshaws on certain roads in Mirpur area in the capital on the plea of reducing traffic jam has not produced the desired result. Rather the step increased traffic congestion on the roads which were made off-limit to rickshaws.
Citing example, the survey report said that following the imposition of ban on the movement of rickshaws on those roads, 25 percent of the commuters were compelled to walk through the roads in the absence of footpath. 42 percent of the people, who used to travel by rickshaws before the imposition of ban, are now hiring different modes of automobiles to go to different destinations. Extra pressure of mechanised transports on these roads made off-limit to rickshaws has simply choked them creating much discomfort for the commuters, the survey report added.
The imposition of ban on the movement of rickshaws has also reduced the income of rickshaw pullers by 32 percent, it claimed.
A survey report of Dhaka Urban Transport Project (DUTP) said rickshaws in no way create obstacle in the movement of mechanized transports. After making some roads in Mirpur off limit to rickshaws the average speed of buses plying in the area rather dropped by 3.8 kilometer, it mentioned.
Shakil Bin Kashem, Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), told The New Nation that the traffic system has deteriorated after imposition of ban on rickshaw on some roads in the capital.
Comment by Syed Saiful Alam — May 31, 2009 @ 9:05 am
Very interesting read. i still love to read bicycle articles even though i cannot ride anymore following my accident. thats why now i spend most my time now promoting bicycle safety. Thanks for the great post.
Comment by Tony Claim — September 7, 2009 @ 9:27 am