Why the Bicycle?

Fact Sheet provided by the Atlanta area bicycle advocacy organization, the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign

Bicycles provides a simple answer that addresses many persistent questions in American life today: the epidemic of chronic diseases such as asthma and obesity, the congestion that threatens to strangle our cities and commutes, the poor air quality that harms public health and reduces quality of life, the lack of outdoor activity and exercise among both children and adults, the need for local economic development and fiscal relief in difficult financial times.

1. Bicycle facilities spur economic development in communities across America

• Contributes $11.3 billion to the regional economy
• Supports 135,000 jobs across the region
• Generates more than $1.6 billion in annual state and federal tax revenues
• Produces nearly $9.6 billion annually in retail sales and services
• $1.4 billion in bicycling gear sales and services
• $8.2 billion in bicycling trip-related expenditures
• The South Atlantic is home to more than 10 million bicyclists – 25% of the adult population

2. Bicycling is a healthier transportation option

• Every additional 30 minutes a person spends in a car translates into a 3 percent greater chance of being obese (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, "Obesity Relationships with Community Design, Physical Activity, and Time Spent in Cars")

3. Cities that increase their proportion of bike commuters experience congestion reductions

• Bicycle commutes save the public $.13/mile in congestion and pollution costs over auto commutes (from Guidelines for Analysis of Investments in Bicycle Facilities )
• In the U.S., over 25% of all car trips are less than two miles long, 40% of trips in urban areas are two miles or less, and nearly 50% are under 3 miles (Bureau of Transportation Statistics 2001 National Household Travel Survey).  These short trips offer a terrific opportunity to take to the streets by bike instead. 
  
• Based on anecdotal evidence from long-time observers, more and more people across the region are biking to work. 
  
• However, Atlanta has a long way to go: According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, only 0.6% of some 470,000 Atlantans bike to work (2,820 people).  (Keep in mind that Census data tends to undercount bicycle commuters as it counts trips taken half on bicycle and half on public transportation as trips by public transportation only, and does not ask about trips other than trips to work.)

4. Becoming a bicycle-friendly community results in:

• A higher quality of life
  
• Increased property values
• Business growth and increased tourism
  
• People feeling safer and more comfortable riding their bikes for fun, fitness, and transportation
• Reduced traffic demands, improved air quality and greater physical fitness as a result of more people bicycling
• (from The Economic Impact of Bicycling in Wisconsin )

 

5. Bicycling saves on gas

• Metro Atlanta commuters spend more on gas each year than anyone else in the country – an average of $5,772 per household.(Sperling’s Best Places, “Pain at the Pump,” May 2006)
• Eliminating one vehicle from your household saves you $8,410 annually if you account for maintenance, auto insurance, gasoline, depreciation (Road and Track, March 2005.)
  

	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Yearly
$ Gas Savings (10 mile daily commute, 22 mpg, $3.50/gallon)	$1.59	$7.95	$31.82	$413.64

6. Bicycling saves on carbon emissions

	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Yearly
Pounds of CO2 NOT added to the atmosphere (10 mile daily commute, 22 mpg, $3.50 mpg)	9	45	180	2,340

Source: http://www.bikecommuters.com/gas-saving-calculator

Note: The average American drives 12,000 miles per year, which in a 2006 model car emits approximately 11,000 pounds of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere annually, equal to the amount stored in 128 tree seedlings grown for 10 years (from Driving Green).

7. Bicycling is a form of transportation with support from the advocacy community, local businesses, and local government

• ABC offers Confident City Cycling classes that teach people how to bike safely and with confidence.  Visit atlantabike.org for more information.
  
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• Bicycle commuters who work or live in metro Atlanta are eligible for Commuter Rewards (including cash prizes): commuterrewards.com

8. Bicycling instead of driving means cleaner air

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created air pollution standards for pollutants that come from transportation sources - ozone, carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter.  Motor vehicles also give off what are called "precursors" such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), sulfur oxides (SOx), and ammonia (NH3) that contribute to air pollution. While urban air quality has improved greatly, transportation remains a major source of air pollution.  Road transportation comprises 27 percent of VOC emissions, 35 percent of NOx emissions, and 55 percent of CO emissions. (from National Emissions Inventory Air Pollutant Emissions Trends Data, 2002)

9. Every additional person on a bicycle makes it safer for everyone else.

• A reduction in cycling may lead to an increased risk for the cyclists remaining on the road, due to a "safety in numbers" effect documented by several researchers (Jacobsen PL. Injury Prevention 2003)
  

• The probability of an individual cyclist being struck by a motorist declines with the 0.6 power of the number of cyclists on the road. That means that if the number of cyclists on the road doubles, then the average individual cyclist can ride for an additional 50 % of the time without increasing his probability of being struck. It is thought that the increased frequency of motorist-cyclist interaction creates more aware motorists. (M. Wardlaw (December 2002). "Assessing the actual risks faced by cyclists". Traffic Engineering & Control 43: 352–356.)