Avoiding the risk of new corona infection Bicycle commuting spreads in urban areas 5:11 on June 3
Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, it is difficult to avoid the so-called "3 density" in public transportation such as trains and buses, and the number of people commuting by bicycle mainly in urban areas such as Tokyo is increasing.
Kentaro Tamaki (56), who works for a health-related company in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, stopped commuting by train after the company permitted bicycle commuting from March, and about 18 km from his home in Setagaya-ku. I commute by bicycle for about 50 minutes.
Mr. Tamaki said, "In the morning rush hour train, I'm afraid of getting infected, but when I'm riding a bicycle, I don't have to worry about contacting people, and I can afford to think about my work schedule for the day. I want to continue commuting by bicycle, thinking that two waves may come."
Tamaki-san's "Health Doujinsha" has a place where you can park your bicycle in a corner of the company's parking lot, and it allows people who wish to commute by bicycle to work, provided that employees have bicycle insurance. As a company, of course, we must think about protecting the safety of our employees. To avoid congestion, we would like to continue our bicycle commuting efforts."
The IT company "Works Human Intelligence" in Tokyo conducted a continuous questionnaire survey from February this year on measures against the new coronavirus targeting approximately 1200 major business partners.
Among them, when asked about the permission status for bicycle commuting, 38 companies out of 146 companies (26%) in February were "all companies or some departments handle it". In 2015, 59 out of 127 companies increased to 46.4%, and last month's survey reached 97 out of 152 companies and 63.8%.
According to the company surveyed, “Companies are increasing the number of options for commuting to reduce the risk of infection, and bicycle commuting is considered to be one of them. On the other hand, there are issues such as accident risk, bicycle parking, and handling of transportation expenses, It seems that there are many companies that consider it to be an effective measure."
Bicycle stay silent at work
Regarding bicycle commuting, even if an individual employee has bicycle insurance, if an accident occurs while commuting, the company may be held responsible for the user or may deteriorate the image, so it is not accepted. There are many companies.
A woman in her twenties who works for a real estate company in Tokyo told the company that she would like to commute by bicycle, and was not recognized as "at higher risk of an accident than public transportation".
Even so, commuting by bus or train unavoidably leads to the so-called "three density", and there is a risk of infection, so this April, I started a bicycle commute silently at the company using a paid bicycle parking lot near my workplace.
It means that many of my female colleagues are commuting by bicycle as well.
A woman said, "I'm told that the 2nd and 3rd waves may come from now on, but I can't let myself down because the number of people on the buses and trains is increasing. It's hard to be known to the company, so don't get into an accident I commute to work, but many colleagues want to commute by bicycle, so I would like the company to recognize it."
Companies will also review the commuting system
For companies, bicycle commuting by employees is forced to revise the system on the premise of commuting by public transportation, such as securing the risk of accidents, securing bicycle parking lots, and providing commuting allowances.
Of these, the risks of accidents include cases where employees are injured and work is hindered, resulting in loss to the company, and damage to other people as a perpetrator and the responsibility of the employer is pursued. There are cases where
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, if an employee kills or injures another person or destroys something while commuting, the employee will be liable for the damage, but if it is recognized as an accident accompanying business activities. It means that the user may be held responsible.
For this reason, not only employees but also companies need to take out bicycle insurance, etc. to compensate for damages to people and property, and to thoroughly implement traffic safety education and conduct bicycle safety inspections.
Furthermore, it is desirable to consider providing commuting allowances in consideration of securing bicycle parking lots and bicycle maintenance costs.
Soji Furukura, director of Bicycle Parking Lot Maintenance Center Bicycle Research Institute, said, "To promote the commuting of bicycles, we conduct safety education and follow the rules. In addition, we would like to take this opportunity to proceed with hardware maintenance such as installing a signboard that encourages consideration of dedicated roads and cars.”
Online lessons on how to ride correctly
To reduce the risk of accidents associated with commuting by bicycle, the bicycle school in Shinjuku, Tokyo has been holding an online lesson since last month to teach how to ride a sports bicycle.
In the lesson, for beginners who are planning to ride a sports bicycle for the first time on public roads, wear a helmet even when the destination is near, basically run on the left side of the road, and in April from Tokyo, take out bicycle insurance Explains the basic points to note, such as the fact that is required.
Furthermore, in the future, when commuting by bicycle, it is planned to give instructions to employees to check in advance the bicycle parking location and insurance that will be applied in the event of an accident.
Hayato Ando, the principal of the “Cycle School”, who holds lessons, said, “I feel that many people do not understand how to ride a bicycle safely and the correct traffic rules. Bicycles are also useful for measures against new coronavirus infection and health. It's a connection, so I want you to follow the traffic rules correctly and enjoy yourself."
Lack of bicycle parking is a business opportunity
With the increase in commuting by bicycle, one of the issues expected to be centered around the city center in the future is the lack of bicycle parking space.
Considering these issues as business opportunities, a start-up company in Tokyo began late last month with a shared bicycle service that rents bicycles by utilizing empty spaces in restaurants as bicycle parking lots.
In six wards of Tokyo, such as Shibuya Ward and Meguro Ward, we have bicycle parking lots called "ports" in more than 60 sites such as restaurants and buildings, and rent small electric assist bicycles.
The key to the bicycle is unlocked using a smartphone app, and users can rent or return the bicycle at any port.
The usage fee is 100 yen for the first 10 minutes, 15 yen per minute after that, and fixed rates such as 6000 yen per month are also set.
According to Luup, a startup company that provides services, when we started service with 50 bicycles, more than 2000 people registered as members in the first two days, so we will increase the number of bicycles and ports in the future. I will increase it.
Daiki Okai, representative of Luup, said, “There are many places around restaurants where bicycles can be parked, so I would like to utilize those places to increase the number of ports. Even people who do not have a bicycle parking lot at work can feel free to do so. I want people to use it for commuting and to think that they don't have to own their own bicycle in the future."
Government boosted in France
In France, in order to prevent congestion in public transportation centering on urban areas such as Paris, governments and local governments have prepared temporary bicycle lanes to encourage commuting by bicycle.
In the Paris metropolitan area, in order to relax the restrictions on going out last month, in order to prevent congestion on the subways and buses, it is mandatory for users during commuting hours to carry their work certificate, and fines will be imposed for violations. Citizens are worried about infection and people refrain from using it, and the subway is closed during commuting hours.
On the other hand, the government recommends using bicycles.
In France, many people originally ride bicycles for leisure and sports on weekends, and the total length of the bicycle lane reached more than 15,000 kilometers in 2017. In addition, in line with the relaxation of restrictions on going out, the government and local governments are constructing a part of the roadway into a temporary bicycle lane in a section of about 1000 km in the urban area and its suburbs.
In Paris, along the three busy subway lines during the commuting hours, there is a temporary 50km lane for bicycles, with lots of bikes going in and out in the morning and evening.
The French government surveyed 182 locations in the country and found that bicycle use increased by 44% in the first week of the relaxed restrictions on travel.
The government has started a system to subsidize 50 euros for bicycles that have not been used for many years and JPY 6,000 for each bicycle, and customers are visiting bicycle stores in Paris one after another.
A man who came with a bicycle that he hadn't ridden for three years said, "I estimate that it costs 150 euros to repair, so I'll use government assistance."
A salesclerk man said, "Some people bring bicycles that they haven't used for 10 years, and there are about twice as many customers as usual. I'm sure there will be more."
Bicycles are paying attention again in China
Even in China, where many people once used bicycles for commuting, bicycles have regained attention as alternative transportation means to subways and buses in order to reduce the risk of infection with the new coronavirus.
Many people visit American manufacturers' bicycle stores in Shanghai every day.
The best-selling products are Japanese yen, which is around 80,000 yen, which is relatively high in China, but the sales after February, when the business resumed, increased by 70% compared to last year.
The clerk said, "People who want to ride with their children at home without commuting other than commuting come to buy it."
A customer man said, ``I've been at home for a few months and I'm gaining weight, so I'm thinking of buying a bike for my health,'' and a man who came to see a bike for my son was `` I wanted to have my own transportation to prevent infections."
Many parks in the center of Shanghai are visited by many families on holidays, and children who are less likely to exercise after the infection spread are often seen riding on bicycles.
A 9-year-old child and a visiting man said, "I will go cycling together when school starts."