18/08/2018
But for city officials to recognize the starring role that bikes can play in solving some of these immense problems, one particular myth must be put to bed.
“There is this false narrative, this dangerous lie, that people on bikes are somehow getting away with something, that they’re not paying their way,” Toderian explains. “This isn’t just a little wrong, it’s a lot wrong. We know factually that walking and biking are the two ways of getting around that actually save society money for each kilometre travelled. And that’s even before we consider all the many benefits that aren’t just about money.”
Officials at the City of Copenhagen were among the first to document this phenomenon. In 2012, they produced a report considering a wide range of costs and benefits related to transportation, including safety, comfort, branding, tourism, travel times, and health. When all of these factors were added together, one kilometre cycled produced a $0.26 economic gain to society; one kilometre driven cost society $0.14. And that’s without considering bigger connected costs, like the consequences of climate change.
The resulting benefits of a ‘car-less’ household are myriad, but few are as quantifiable as the money most people sink into a depreciating asset that sits unused for 95% of the time.
