Cycling is a fun recreational activity. However, its benefits go well beyond. From improving your health & fitness to bringing a positive impact to the environment and economy for everyone else – here are some incredible statistics on how cycling benefits you and everyone else around. We are updating these trends and statistics regularly. Please feel free to bookmark and revisit from time to time.
Areas of Cycling Benefits
Cycling’s Health Benefits
A study found that those who took up habitual cycling in middle to old age had a 20% lower risk of T2D compared to those who remained non-cyclists.
A study conducted by Martin Rasmussen of the University of Southern Denmark noted the following benefits of cycling:
- It was found that habitual cycling was related to a lower risk of T2D than no cycling, and that a longer duration of weekly cycling seemed to be preferable to less weekly cycling.
- It was found that those who took up habitual cycling in middle to old age had a 20% lower risk of T2D compared to those who remained non-cyclists.
The study included a cohort of 24,623 men and 27,890 women from Denmark, recruited between the ages of 50 and 65. The study compared the association between self-reported recreational and commuter cycling habits with T2D incidence measured in the Danish National Diabetes Registry. Five years after they were initially recruited, participants were contacted for follow-up and their cycling habits were re-assessed [Study]
Cycling regularly boosts physical fitness and prolongs life expectancy by 3 to 14 months.
A study published by the University of Utrecht, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, and Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency found the following:
- For the people who shift from car to bicycle, the beneficial effect of increased physical activity due to cycling resulted in about 9 times more gains in life-years than the losses in life years due to increased inhaled air pollution doses and traffic accidents.
- For subjects shifting from car to bicycle, the study estimated the average gain in life days/months per person to be 8 months (between 3 – 14 months)
- For society as a whole, this beneficial effect can be even larger because of reduced air pollution emissions.
- Considering the risks presented to other road users, the risk of a fatal traffic accident is virtually the same for cyclists and car drivers.
The study summarized the literature for air pollution, traffic accidents, and physical activity using systematic reviews supplemented with recent key studies to arrive at the above findings on the benefits of cycling.[Study]
Cycling’s Environmental Impact & Benefits
Cyclists had 84% lower lifecycle CO2 emissions from all daily travel than non-cyclists.
A study called “The climate change mitigation effects of active travel” collected travel activity data in seven European cities and derived lifecycle CO2 emissions from daily travel activity. The key findings are noted here:
- Daily mobility-related lifecycle CO2 emissions were 3.2 kgCO2 per person, with car travel contributing 70% and cycling 1%.
- Cyclists had 84% lower lifecycle CO2 emissions from all daily travel than non-cyclists.
- Lifecycle CO2 emissions decreased by -14% (95%CI -12% to -16%) per additional cycling trip and decreased by -62% (95%CI -61% to -63%) for each avoided car trip.
- An average person who ‘shifted travel modes’ from car to bike decreased lifecycle CO2 emissions by 3.2 (95%CI 2.0 to 5.2) kgCO2/day, and using a bike as the ‘main method of travel’ gave 7.1 (95%CI 4.8 to 10.4) kgCO2/day lower lifecycle CO2 emissions than mainly using a car or van.
More details on this study quantifying cycling’s environmental benefits can be found here [Study]
Local air quality improves drastically when switching from cars to bicycles. Switching from car to bicycle reduces 65% NOx pollution per km traveled
NOx is produced from the reaction of nitrogen and oxygen gases in the air during combustion, especially at high temperatures. In areas of high motor vehicle traffic, such as in large cities, the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted into the atmosphere as air pollution can be significant. NOx has direct and indirect effects on human health. It can cause breathing problems, headaches, chronically reduced lung function, eye irritation, loss of appetite, and corroded teeth. Indirectly, it can affect humans by damaging the ecosystems they rely on in water and on land—harming animals and plants.
As estimated by Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis, switching from a car to a bicycle saves 0.2 g of NOx per kilometer and 0.01 g of particulate matter per kilometer. Each 7 km by bicycle rather than by car will save an emission of 1.5 g of nitrogen oxides and 7 mg of particulate matter.
Cycling’s Economic Impact & Benefits
It can be six times more expensive for society and individuals if people travel by car instead of cycling
Stefan Gössling from Lund University and Andy S. Choi from the University of Queensland investigated cost-benefit analysis that the Copenhagen Municipality uses to determine whether new cycling infrastructure should be built. It considers how much cars cost society and how they compare to bicycles in terms of air pollution, climate change, travel route, noise, road wear, health, and congestion in Copenhagen. They found that if the costs to society and the costs to private individuals are added together, the impact of the car is EUR 0.50 per kilometer and the impact of the bicycle is EUR 0.08 per kilometer. 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.
Cyclists spend more at local businesses
A November 2012 report by the New York Department of Transportation presented statistics on the way that local business benefits from bike lanes. After the city of New York installed bike lanes on 8th and 9th avenues in Manhattan, retail sales on 9th Ave. from 23 to 31st streets grew 49 percent, compared to 3 percent Manhattan. Cyclists find it easy to stop and shop at local businesses, as compared to drivers, who are more likely to continue on to a mall with a big parking lot or shop online. [Study]
Similarly, another study included in Dutch Cycling Vision also states that cyclists shop up to 3 times more locally, more often, and are more loyal compared to car drivers. [Study]
In a 2010 study, researchers at Portland State University’s Maseeh College of Engineering carried out intercept surveys asking people at a variety of Portland-area bars, convenience stores, and restaurants how much they spent, how often they shopped, and whether they showed up via public transit, on foot, by car, or by bike. The study also focused on different locations to see if there were differences between spending habits in central business districts, the urban core, neighborhood centers, or suburban areas. The findings of the study revealed that people who drive to these establishments spend more per visit, but bike riders visit more often and therefore spend more overall. For example, the data shows that people drove to a convenience store an average of 9.9 times per month and spent $7.98 per visit for a total monthly expenditure of $79.73 while people who biked made 14.5 convenience store visits, spending $7.30 per trip for a total of $105.66 per month.
Have you been cycling yourself? Let us know of the cycling benefits you have experienced and help inspire more people.
Are you considering cycling to experience the benefits of this amazing activity? Let us know if we can help you with more information.