I often bicycle with my 11 y/o son on 96th St. to get to school. Most mornings he wants to ride, but occasionally (especially if he didn't get enough sleep) he insists on taking the M96. Invariably, he's telling me that he regrets not bicycling by the end of the ride.

For example, are there terra-cotta bus lanes in store for 96th Street or Fourteenth Street? Should the DOT be planning Select Bus Service for Third and Lexington Avenues instead of First and Second? 145th and 149th Streets instead of Fordham Road? Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn instead of Bedford? Are there particular bottlenecks for any of those routes?

I do sympathize though with Larry's point of view on the advocates making fun of the system they advocate for. It is hard to get attention in the intense media environment we live in but in the end, how does the public build up the will to fund a system that we have just been making fun of?

The answer is that no one would gain, and no one would lose, because it is impossible to replace the bus system with Velib. The disabled and most of the elderly can't ride bikes. Many other people, myself included, are disinclined to use bikes, preferring the bus or the subway -- even with higher fares and less service.

Which makes you think -- who would benefit and who would lose from replacing the bus system with Velib?

And how does that line up with those who benefitted from the "cash in now to hell with the future" policies of the past 15 years?

It seems to me that younger generations are not responsible for what we face, and they are more likely to be in the modestly decent shape required to get around by bicycle, and more likely to stay in that shape if they do.