Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD

@mbonsma
3.7K Followers
789 Following
1.5K Posts

University of Toronto postdoc (bikes + data), biophysics PhD, mom. I post about bikes and safe streets, local politics, and sometimes science. She/her.

#DataScience #BikeTooter #OttBike #BikeTO #ActiveTravel #Transportation #UrbanPlanning #CargoBike #eBike #biking #maps #science #Python #cats #fedi22

LocationToronto
Websitehttps://madeleinebonsma.com/contact
Blueskymbonsma.bsky.social
Bluesky cross-posting accounthttps://mastodon.social/@mbonsma.bsky.[email protected]
Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhD15h ago
Winter cyclists, it is time for us to accept that other people exist
Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhDMay 25

Pedal Poll 2026 is 9 days away! This year's count is VERY exciting: this will be a completely new dataset gathering information on micromobility modes while maintaining comparability with five previous years of bike counts.

Sign up for a counting shift in your community! https://velocanadabikes.org/pedalpoll/

#BikeTO #BikeTooter #PedalPoll

Pedal Poll/Sondo Vélo

Pedal Poll/Sondo Vélo 2024 is taking place June 4 to 9. The count is a chance to evaluate the state of cycling in our communities. Together we get a “snapshot” of what cycling looks like in communities across Canada, at the same time, year over year. The data collected helps build the case for more, and better, cycling infrastructure. This growing data set is there for everyone to use to advocate for access to safe cycling choices for everyone, everywhere.

Vélo Canada Bikes
Show threadMadeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhDApr 29

These rates are an order of magnitude higher than injury rates for driving in Canada, by comparison (0.3 injuries or fatalities per million km in 2023).

But I would argue that per distance is not the right comparison for cars vs. bikes, and something more like rate per trip would be better.

Canadians drive something like 15,000 km per year on average. Bike commuters' average trip is 20 minutes, so even if you biked to work every weekday, you would still be under 4000 km biked for the year.

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhDApr 29

A finding that e-bike injury risk in Oslo, Norway is *lower* than conventional bike risk after adjusting for distance traveled.

Caveat for North American readers: e-bikes in the EU are speed-limited to 25 km/h.

https://findingspress.org/article/157852-relative-injury-risk-of-e-bikes-and-conventional-bicycles

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhDApr 25
Cruising around in my SUV (Snack Utility Vehicle)
Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhDApr 24

Tried to sign off with "best" and wrote "beset" instead, which seems appropriate

Beset,
Madeleine

Show threadMadeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhDApr 24
This all started when this thread went viral on Mastodon.
https://mastodon.social/@mbonsma/111564828670828672
Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhDApr 24
We're in a book! 😱
Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhDApr 6

Curious about cargo bikes or biking with kids? Seasoned pro interested in meeting bike friends? Come to our cargo bike meetup on April 18 @ Withrow Park!
#BikeTO #CarryShitOlympics

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cargo-bike-meet-up-test-ride-tickets-1986679250117?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=wsa&aff=ebdsshwebmobile

Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhDFeb 11
Show threadMadeleine Bonsma-Fisher, PhDFeb 6
Transportation planning has an unfortunate history of caring more about "choice riders" (of e.g. public transit) than people who use it out of necessity. Non-choice riders are forced to use the system no matter how bad, so there's no rush to improve it. This is wrong, both morally and scientifically