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Eric Hopton for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Copenhagen calls itself the “City of Cyclists” and cycle tracks, including “super bikeways” dominate the landscape. It may be the most bike-friendly city in the world. Every day Copenhagen’s cyclists pedal hundreds of thousands of miles between them, commuting to work, school, or university. By some estimates, almost as many people commute by bicycle in greater Copenhagen as do those who cycle to work in the entire United States.
But how do we estimate the benefits of cycling to a city as a whole? A study by Copenhagen’s Lund University found it is six times more expensive for society – and for the individual – to travel by car instead of cycling. This is the first time a price has been put on car use as compared to cycling.
Healthy, cheap, green – what’s not to like?
The comparative study, by Stefan Gössling from Lund University and Andy S. Choi from the University of Queensland, used cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to calculate how much cars cost society and how they compare to bicycles. They compared air pollution, climate change, travel route, noise, road wear, health, and congestion in Copenhagen.
As cycling is healthier and more environmentally friendly, (and often faster), Copenhagen is aiming to increase the number of cycling commuters by up to 50% by late 2015.
Published in the journal Ecological Ergonomics, the findings added the costs to society and to private individuals together, and the impact of the car is EUR 0.50 per kilometer while the impact of the bicycle is only EUR 0.08.
The study also shows that if we only look at costs/benefits for society, one kilometer by car costs EUR 0.15, whereas society earns EUR 0.16 on every kilometer cycled.
“The cost-benefit analysis in Copenhagen shows that investments in cycling infrastructure, and bike-friendly policies are economically sustainable and give high returns”, says Gössling.
Of course, cost is not the only issue here. Not every city is as cycle-friendly as Copenhagen and in some of the world’s great cities commuting by bike is extremely dangerous or impossible.
But we urge you: if you can, bike on.
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