$4.6 Billion a Year Saved by US Bicyclists, LAB Study Finds

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As I wrote in an article published on Sunday, determining the savings from bicycling to work is highly dependent on assumptions used (what isn’t?). Nonetheless, it’s clear to anyone who thinks about it for a few moments that bicycling is much, much, much cheaper than driving (not to mention the savings from improved health). So, it’s not surprising that a new study published by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB), the Sierra Club, and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) finds that, on the whole, US bicyclists save $4.6 billion per year by bicycling instead of driving.

A couple more keys finding from the study are:

  • “The average annual operating cost of a bicycle is $308 — versus $8,220 for the average car.”
  • “If American drivers replaced just one four-mile car trip with a bike each week for the whole year, it would save more than 2 billion gallons of gas.”

Nice.

Here are some statements from the heads of the three organizations behind the study:

“There are so many reasons more people are riding, from improving their health to protecting the environment,” said League President Andy Clarke. “But, especially in tough economic times, bicycling can also be an economic catalyst, keeping billions of dollars in the pockets of American families.”

“Biking is an important piece of a 21st century transportation system,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. “Biking reduces America’s dependence on oil and lets individuals bypass the gas pump, saving individuals money and protecting our health and environment from dirty oil pollution.”

“Bicycling is a crucial mode of commuting for many Latinos,” said Catherine Singley, Senior Policy Analyst at NCLR. “Federal transportation policy should ensure that biking is a safe and viable way to connect people to jobs.”

Check out the full fact sheet for more.

Source: LAB
Image Credits: Portland bicyclists BikePortland.org and poetas


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Zachary Shahan

Zach is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao. Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA], NIO [NIO], Xpeng [XPEV], Ford [F], ChargePoint [CHPT], Amazon [AMZN], Piedmont Lithium [PLL], Lithium Americas [LAC], Albemarle Corporation [ALB], Nouveau Monde Graphite [NMGRF], Talon Metals [TLOFF], Arclight Clean Transition Corp [ACTC], and Starbucks [SBUX]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.

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