|
[I had this article in my files I started when I first got into
biking. I'm judging the date to be probably 1990 or 1991. While the
figures are no longer accurate, it does make interesting reading.]
ALL THAT'S NEEDED TO PROVE THE BENEFITS OF BIKE COMMUTING IS
TO DO IT! But if it's concrete data you want, these 50 facts, gleaned
from numerous sources, clearly illustrate the potential of riding a bike instead
of driving a car.
Reprinted from BICYCLING magazine
Written by Mark Jenkins
|
- Percentage of Americans who live less than 5 miles from their job:
54.
- Percentage of Americans who commute by bike: 1.67.
- Percentage of Japanese who commute by bike: 15.
- Percentage of residents of Groningen, Netherlands, who commute by
bike: 50.
- Percentage of residents of Tianjin, China, who commute by bike: 77.
- Percentage of New York City residents who live within 5 miles of work and
say they would commute by bike if lanes, indoor parking, and showers were
provided: 45.
- Average number of cyclists passing through a major New York City
intersection in one hour: 173.
- Average number of cyclists passing through a major Tianjin intersection in
one hour: 50,000.
- Number of lanes a bridge or city street must have to accommodate 40,000 automobiles
per hour: 12.
- Number of lanes necessary to accommodate 40,000 bicycles per hour:
1.
- Percentage of urban space in the U.S. devoted to roadways: 50.
- Cost of traffic jams to commuters in 29 U.S. cities during 1986, in billions:
$24.3.
- Amount Palo Alto, California, has spent on bicycle bridges, lighted paths,
and lockers since 1980, in millions: $1.
- Number of hours philosopher Ivan Illich says the average American male
spends driving his car, or preparing to do so, per day: 4.
- Percentage increase in automobile commuter time projected for large U.S.
cities by the year 2005: 400.
- Number of bikes that can be parked in the space required for a car:
12.
- Number of bicycle parking lots in Japan: 8,600.
- Total number of bikes Japan's parking lots can hold: 2,400,000.
- Of very 74,000 Chinese, number that own a car: 1.
- For very 2 Americans, number that own a car: 1.
- Number of automobiles in the U.S., in millions: 139.
- Number of bicycles in the U.S., in millions: 103.
- Number of bikes that can be produced for the energy and resources it takes
to build one medium-size automobile: 100.
- Number of automobiles that have been discarded in the U.S. since
1946: 288,325,000.
- Average cost of a new car in the U.S.: $13,581. [This really
dates the article!]
- Average cost of a new bike bought from a pro shop in the U.S.:
$385. [So does this!]
- Percentage of annual U.S. household income devoted to owning and operating
an automobile: 20.
- Average cost of an automobile in developing countries, in years of
personal income: 30.
- Average cost of a bicycle in developing countries, in years of personal
income: 1/2.
- Gasoline tax in the Netherlands, in percent: 245.
- Gasoline tax in the U.S., in percent: 45.
- Registration fee car owners in Japan pay every two years: $2,000.
- Number of miles of bike paths in the Netherlands: 10,000.
- Number of miles of bike paths in New York state: 250.
- Number of pedestrians killed by bicycles in New York City in 1989:
0.
- Number of pedestrians killed by motor vehicles in New York City in
1989: 364.
- Number of automobile deaths in the U.S. in 1989: 45,555.
- Number of American soldiers killed in the Vietnam War: 58,135.
- Rank of automobile emissions among all causes of air pollution: 1.
- Number of deaths attributed to automobile emissions annually in the
U.S.: 30,000.
- Miles per gallon traveled by the average car in the U.S.: 18.
- Equating calories to gasoline, number of miles per gallon that could be
traveled by the average cyclist: 3,000.
- Number of bicycle manufacturers in the U.S. in 1899: 312.
- Number of major bicycle manufacturers in the U.S. today: 15.
- Number of barrels of oil consumed daily in the U.S., in millions:
17.
- Percentage of this number consumed by driving: 43.
- Percentage of oil consumed in the U.S. that comes from the Middle
East: 11.
- Percentage of the U.S. trade deficit oil imports represent: 25.
- Number of times U.S. commuters would need to bicycle to work each week to
eliminate the need for Middle East oil: 1.25.
- Year George Bush said, "I see an increased role for the bicycle in
American life": 1975.
|
