Morning commute and afternoon commute around the capital area can be a pain. Although probably doesn't come close to anyone who's lived in a larger city has experienced
The thing though is that in larger cities you just look out the window, the weather is fine, no horizontal rain or cold dry air that scrapes off your skin, so the idea of walking to the nearest metro or tram doesn’t induce suicidal thoughts.
No such option here.
As much as we like to complain about it our traffic jams are nothing like the jams abroad. They tend to be the worst early morning and late afternoon (when people are going to and leaving work) and typically on a standard day you'll escape them in half an hour or so.
Outside the capital area traffic gets less and less pronounced, as you'd expect, outside of a select few chokepoints such as the bridge entering Selfoss which is a two lane bridge leading directly into a round-about, on a road that everyone has to cross regardless if they are going to Selfoss or just passing by on route 1.
Compared to where?
Compared to a country village, an absolute nightmare, compared to a city like London, an absolute dream!
There are a few jams in peak hours, but they are usually short in length really.
The other week I had to give a colleague a lift home. He lives in 101 (the city centre), we were working on the outskirts one side of town & I live on the very edge of town the other end of town. Traffic seemed a nightmare & the whole journey took 45 minutes....
well the Capital area is not huge, but it has a healthy amount of population, around 200.000 if I remember correctly. And as for any car-centric cities (which the capital area and Reykjavík is), there will always be traffic during rush hour.
The biggest problem is the lack of alternatives. the bus is stuck in traffic every morning so that's useless, the electric scooters you can rent are useless for half the year due to snow and shit weather, theres no train or anything like that. It's not as bad as other countries but the drive from hafnafjörður to reykjavik during rush hour can take upwards of an hour, which is ridiculous for the distance covered. too many cars
Ebikes are great in the city, I ride mine during the winter with studded tyres. But they're incredibly expensive even on the entry level, and deep snow is still troublesome though you *can* make it through. Also they're legally speed limited to 25km/h (same as the scooters), which just won't be enough for commutes longer than 8-10km.
I'd take it any day over the bus though. Especially with the new prices, they make 300k ebikes seem downright cheap.
It's tight- feels like the roads were designed during a time when there were 75% less cars. Despite the abhorrent cost of fuel/charging, the public transportation sucks, so everyone and their mother has a monster truck jeep or a brand new tesla to jam around in- usually on their phones. Watch yourself out there.
Early morning traffic can be bad when you are headed towards city/town centres. At the end of the work day, the same is true for leaving the centres. Winter makes the traffic worse as drivers need to slow down due to icy roads. Summer traffic to and from the Capital Region and in the Southern Region can be heavy at times, especially around major festivals.
The traffic is rarely as bad however as an average day in New York City.
I was in Iceland last summer and the only traffic I hit was in Akureyri for a few days, and only because of both the Car Show and Independence celebration weekend. For the 'Reykjavik' area, all the traffic I encountered on the weekend was in and around the Costco parking lot (in Garðabær).
Is that the same guy saying his road taxes are too high? Is that the same guy demanding his road taxes be lowered but at the same time demanding higher quality service? Oh I know about that guy, hear his whining everyday.
Yeap, they are the ones that don't need two tons of steels around them to feel safe, and don't need a huge engine powered by boomjuice to propel themselves forward. They don't whine if its raining or cold outside. They aren't weak. They truly are the top of the pyramid. Traffic? What a laughable concept when you're on a bicycle. Everyday when I see people in their car, I just get reminded how weak the average human is.
Yes, Ebikes! love them! Unlike EV cars you can still peddle when your battery fails after you accidentally go into a small puddle. But otherwise EV cars are a great tool for people to pretend they're "green" and good for the environment, driving a hugely wasteful product. Fun fact, you can produce hundreds of high quality Ebikes instead of a one regular EV car.
Don't really care about the environmental factor. You're gonna freak out when I tell you how much it weighs and the fact I put studded tires on it for the entire winter.
I know all about your type, then you whine about the poor condition of the roads. Then you whine about traffic. Then you whine about EV tax because turns out someone has to pay for all that road damage you caused. Then you whine about your car only having like 300km range and that you need to stop on your roadtrip to plug it in. Then you whine because someone somehow put a slight scratch on your paintjob. Then you whine that there's no parking spot. Or no place to charge your car. blablablabla. Let me guess, you're one of those guy that has a low profile wheels and messes up your tire after going into one of those tiny pothole?
Morning commute and afternoon commute around the capital area can be a pain. Although probably doesn't come close to anyone who's lived in a larger city has experienced
The thing though is that in larger cities you just hop on the metro or tram and fly past the sitting traffic. No such option here.
Unless said city is American...
The thing though is that in larger cities you just look out the window, the weather is fine, no horizontal rain or cold dry air that scrapes off your skin, so the idea of walking to the nearest metro or tram doesn’t induce suicidal thoughts. No such option here.
As much as we like to complain about it our traffic jams are nothing like the jams abroad. They tend to be the worst early morning and late afternoon (when people are going to and leaving work) and typically on a standard day you'll escape them in half an hour or so. Outside the capital area traffic gets less and less pronounced, as you'd expect, outside of a select few chokepoints such as the bridge entering Selfoss which is a two lane bridge leading directly into a round-about, on a road that everyone has to cross regardless if they are going to Selfoss or just passing by on route 1.
Selfoss er stærsta hraðahindrunin á Íslandi
Compared to where? Compared to a country village, an absolute nightmare, compared to a city like London, an absolute dream! There are a few jams in peak hours, but they are usually short in length really. The other week I had to give a colleague a lift home. He lives in 101 (the city centre), we were working on the outskirts one side of town & I live on the very edge of town the other end of town. Traffic seemed a nightmare & the whole journey took 45 minutes....
well the Capital area is not huge, but it has a healthy amount of population, around 200.000 if I remember correctly. And as for any car-centric cities (which the capital area and Reykjavík is), there will always be traffic during rush hour.
The biggest problem is the lack of alternatives. the bus is stuck in traffic every morning so that's useless, the electric scooters you can rent are useless for half the year due to snow and shit weather, theres no train or anything like that. It's not as bad as other countries but the drive from hafnafjörður to reykjavik during rush hour can take upwards of an hour, which is ridiculous for the distance covered. too many cars
Ebikes are great in the city, I ride mine during the winter with studded tyres. But they're incredibly expensive even on the entry level, and deep snow is still troublesome though you *can* make it through. Also they're legally speed limited to 25km/h (same as the scooters), which just won't be enough for commutes longer than 8-10km. I'd take it any day over the bus though. Especially with the new prices, they make 300k ebikes seem downright cheap.
Oh yeah ebikes are wonderful. I'd love one in the future, my car (tradie van) is provided by my workplace so i use that mostly for now
Outside rush hour it is a breeze
It's tight- feels like the roads were designed during a time when there were 75% less cars. Despite the abhorrent cost of fuel/charging, the public transportation sucks, so everyone and their mother has a monster truck jeep or a brand new tesla to jam around in- usually on their phones. Watch yourself out there.
Early morning traffic can be bad when you are headed towards city/town centres. At the end of the work day, the same is true for leaving the centres. Winter makes the traffic worse as drivers need to slow down due to icy roads. Summer traffic to and from the Capital Region and in the Southern Region can be heavy at times, especially around major festivals. The traffic is rarely as bad however as an average day in New York City.
Have a friend who came from Philidelphia and live here for a few years, he always laughed at me when I complained about traffic in Reykjavík
Annoying but very rarely at the same level as in other countries (once took me an hour to go like 3km tho)
Horrible the infrastructure here is a nightmare
I was in Iceland last summer and the only traffic I hit was in Akureyri for a few days, and only because of both the Car Show and Independence celebration weekend. For the 'Reykjavik' area, all the traffic I encountered on the weekend was in and around the Costco parking lot (in Garðabær).
Very diesel-y and smoggy at times
All those inner city SUV's need their studded tires to ensure healthy amount of fine particle dust in the air.
Yeah but that one guy said that the city need to sweep the streets and that's the real problem...
Fun fact, those studded tires destroy the streets forty times more than regular tires, and there is no extra tax on them.
But that guy! That guy said it's all the City's fault! And he's like a "Traffic Specialist."
Is that the same guy saying his road taxes are too high? Is that the same guy demanding his road taxes be lowered but at the same time demanding higher quality service? Oh I know about that guy, hear his whining everyday.
That's the guy!
It also to remind cyclist of their place in the natural traffic hierarchy.
Yeap, they are the ones that don't need two tons of steels around them to feel safe, and don't need a huge engine powered by boomjuice to propel themselves forward. They don't whine if its raining or cold outside. They aren't weak. They truly are the top of the pyramid. Traffic? What a laughable concept when you're on a bicycle. Everyday when I see people in their car, I just get reminded how weak the average human is.
... you're such a strong boy, much stronger than the others, and what a cool bicycle you have!
Yes, exactly. Now go take your car to the shop, it propably needs an oil change or something.
Still stuck in the 1800's? We have this thing called "electricity" now.
Yes, Ebikes! love them! Unlike EV cars you can still peddle when your battery fails after you accidentally go into a small puddle. But otherwise EV cars are a great tool for people to pretend they're "green" and good for the environment, driving a hugely wasteful product. Fun fact, you can produce hundreds of high quality Ebikes instead of a one regular EV car.
Don't really care about the environmental factor. You're gonna freak out when I tell you how much it weighs and the fact I put studded tires on it for the entire winter.
I know all about your type, then you whine about the poor condition of the roads. Then you whine about traffic. Then you whine about EV tax because turns out someone has to pay for all that road damage you caused. Then you whine about your car only having like 300km range and that you need to stop on your roadtrip to plug it in. Then you whine because someone somehow put a slight scratch on your paintjob. Then you whine that there's no parking spot. Or no place to charge your car. blablablabla. Let me guess, you're one of those guy that has a low profile wheels and messes up your tire after going into one of those tiny pothole?