First, we talked to Dan Taber. Dan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences here at the UT School of Public Health. He has quite a range of research interests including childhood nutrition, physical activity, and obesity, with an emphasis on policy evaluation; school-based policy interventions; social epidemiology; system dynamics. Dan has now lived in Austin for two years, where he actively commutes to work exclusively.
1. Tell me about how you get to work.
Overall I get to and from work by walking, biking and taking the bus. I mix it up a lot – often I’ll take the bus in the morning and then bike home using Austin B-Cycle, Austin’s bike share program.
It depends on factors like the weather, errands I need to do on the way home, or what time of day it is. For example, if it’s rush hour then biking is a lot faster.
2. Why did you choose to commute this way?
The real reason- I didn’t have a choice. I have epilepsy and literally overnight went from driving regularly to realizing that I may never drive again. It’s interesting because I can completely relate to those who don’t typically actively commute. When I moved to Austin, my epilepsy was under control and I drove everywhere because I thought, “You can’t possibly live in Austin without a car.” Then, suddenly, my epilepsy was not under control and - guess what- I’m faced with living in Austin without a car.
Legally, I was not allowed to drive even if I wanted to. Once I was forced into actively commuting to work, though, I realized it can be done, especially if there are many options. Good public transit systems need a lot of options. Getting around exclusively by bus was hard, for example, but once Austin B-Cycle started, it gave me more flexibility.
Austin’s buses and B-Cycle really benefit each other. I typically bus to work because it’s uphill and I don’t want to arrive at work tired and sweaty, but then after work I bike home. One really nice thing about bike shares is that you don’t need to haul your bike everywhere.
Although I’m legally allowed to drive again, I sold my car once I realized it was possible to live car-free in Austin.
3. What challenges did you face when you started actively commuting, or what did you learn the hard way?
I was brand new to biking – I had literally biked 1 time in 15 years before this happened. When I first started to actively commute, safety was my biggest concern. Since then, I haven’t been as worried. I realized it really isn’t as unsafe as you might think before trying it and getting used to it. Friends have even commented that I have completely changed and grown more comfortable on the road.
That being said, I’ve learned you need to grow eyes in the back of your head because many Austin drivers are not looking for bikers or pedestrians. It’s pretty common for me to be crossing a street at a crosswalk and almost get hit by drivers who aren’t paying attention. Austin has a long way to go in this area.
4. How do you deal with this professionally, as far as being presentable at work?
It honestly isn’t bad since I take the bus into work. Sometimes biking to work has even rescued me. On one occasion I had an early meeting and was on a bus when traffic downtown was absolutely horrible. I knew I wouldn’t make it on time if I took the bus, so I hopped on a bike, zoomed past the traffic, and made my meeting.
5. Do you consider Austin a bike friendly city?
Austin as a whole? No. Central Austin is pretty good, but once you get outside of that area, it changes dramatically. I especially notice this when I take the bus to see my neurologist in North Austin. It’s about an hour and a half ride by bus, and every time I go it’s amazing to see the environment become less pedestrian-friendly or bike-friendly as you get further away from Central Austin. Fewer sidewalks and bike lanes. I need to walk in the road where there are no sidewalks. This is often the case further outside a city.
Frankly, I’d say too many Austin drivers have a bad attitude towards pedestrians. Here it seems that cars dominate the road, and cars always come first. When I lived in Chicago, I think there was more of a mutual respect among cars, bikers, and pedestrians.
I have noticed, though, that when a bike share starts in a city and expands, drivers are more receptive to bikers and sharing the road. Bike share programs have really exploded in many U.S. cities over the past few years, and it’s interesting to see how a city changes in response. As they become more popular, cities often realize “wow, we have to start making changes and become more bike friendly.”
6. Studies show active commuting improves not only physical but psychological wellbeing. What are your thoughts on this?
I believe it. Sitting by yourself in your car is boring and socially isolating. Stationary traffic is frustrating. Plus, I can get more done on the bus like read a book or do some work.
7. Are there any safety or environmental resources out there that you know of or use?
I like Walk Score because it ranks cities and neighborhoods on walkability from 1-100. It also gives a transit and bike score. Austin actually ranks very low, at a walkability of 35. It’s funny because people think of Austin as such a progressive city but the public transit score is 33, which is also low.
To put it in perspective, New York City is ranked at 88 for walkability and 81 for transit. Portland is ranked the #1 bike friendly city with a score of 70.3, putting Austin’s bike score of 45 to shame.
8. Any final thoughts on active commuting?
I would encourage others to do it – it’s far easier and more enjoyable than you might think. I know it isn’t possible for everyone, but I would’ve said it was “impossible” until I actually did it. Now I love it for lots of reasons. It naturally builds physical activity throughout the day. I get at least 60 minutes of activity without even setting aside time for it. And, to be honest, when I’m commuting home on Friday during rush hour, I love the feeling of blowing by all the cars on my bike. Riding down Guadalupe, I will probably pass anywhere from 100-200 cars. I fly down Guadalupe and then pause on the bridge to enjoy the view of the lake – I love it!
We'd like to give a huge thanks to Dr. Taber for agreeing to this interview and sharing some great opinions and insights into active commuting. Stay tuned for a few more stories this month on how people exercise the right to exercise while commuting to work!
Written by:
Amanda Taylor
Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living
Dan Taber, PhD
UT School of Public Health- Austin Regional Campus
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