BICYCLES BUSINESS IN THAILAND

Case study about bicycles business in Thailand

Case study about bicycles business in Thailand

Introduction

Impending energy shortages require alternative transportation modes, and the bicycle is ideally equipped to fill some of the gaps. Healthy, convenient, and relatively fast, urban bicycle use can be significantly enhanced with inexpensive infrastructure improvements such as bicycle lanes isolated from motor traffic, separate bicycle signals, and covered and lighted bikeways. Attitudes must also change to make cycling a widely accepted, green alternative. One component of the future transportation mix that will probably grow in importance is the humble bicycle—human-powered, but amazingly efficient (Wilson, 1973, pp.20). Two-legged locomotion places humans among the least efficient animals, but humans on bicycles go farther per calorie of energy than any other animal except soaring birds (essentially solar-powered flight). On level ground, a cyclist can move about three times as fast as a pedestrian with the same effort. This is the promise of cycling as transportation, but it comes with some reservations.

History

The bicycle is a surprisingly recent invention. After numerous experiments in the 18th and 19th centuries, bicycles similar to modern models appeared in the 1880s. Predecessors of the modern (or safety) bicycle were not seen as practical means of transportation and were used primarily for short, recreational rides. The popular all-metal high wheel (or ordinary) bicycles of the 1870s were luxury items afforded only by the wealthy and the perilous design often limited usage to younger men. Practical bicycles depended on two inventions of the modern industrial era: the ball bearing and the pneumatic tire (Herlihy, 2004, pp.78). Together with steel fabrication methods, these inventions made bicycles light, comfortable, and affordable to almost everyone. However, they were also key steps to the automobile, which was invented only a few years later.

The 1890s were the golden era of cycling, taking place between the invention of the modern bicycle and the introduction of affordable automobiles, when the bicycle dominated the popular imagination. Bicycles enabled workers to live farther from their places of employment, resulting in the development of near-in suburbs around many cities. They made possible weekend jaunts into the countryside for urban dwellers, while creating demand for paved roads. Together with the new urban and interurban electric trolleys (trams), an efficient, pollution-free transportation system took form (Epperson, 2010, pp.30).

Bicycles as Transportation

To affect society's energy mix, bicycles must be used widely for transportation, not just recreation. They are ideal for short-distance commuting and running errands: 22 percent of commutes in the United States and 35 percent in Canada are less than 5 kilometers (km), well within comfortable bicycle range. At a reasonable 20 km/hour (12 miles/hour), this means about a 15-minute ride. Bicycles offer transportation on demand—no walking to and waiting for a bus or tram. They go where the commuter wants to go, not where an established route directs. The consistent, mild exercise is better for health than powered transport. The bicycle is also inexpensive, at about 2 percent of the cost of an ...