Thursday, March 29, 2012

One mile on a bike is a $.42 economic gain to society, one mile driving is a $.20 loss


Copenhagen, the bicycle-friendliest place on the planet, publishes a biannual Bicycle Account, and buried in its pages is a rather astonishing fact, reports Andy Clarke, president of the league of American Bicyclists:
“When all these factors are added together the net social gain is DKK 1.22 per cycled kilometer. For purposes of comparison there is a net social loss of DKK 0.69 per kilometer driven by car.” 1.22 Danish crowns is about 25 cents and a kilometer is 6/10 of a mile, so we are talking about a net economic gain to society of 42 cents for every bicycle mile traveled. That’s a good number to have in your back pocket.
FULL STORY: 

Friday, March 16, 2012

Investing in the benefits of cycling

Latest article in The News:

Much continues to be written about the obesity epidemic that’s plaguing the western world.
According to the Maple Ridge Healthier Community Action Plan report by Fraser Health, presented to council in 2011, Maple Ridge scores worse than average in B.C., as well as the Fraser Health area, when it comes to the incidence of diseases, such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer and cerebrovascular diseases, which are all linked to obesity.
We’re also less physically active than average. We’re apparently doing slightly better than average when it comes to healthy eating habits.