We’re still building up our database of facts and figures, and will publish more statistics in the near future.
If you’re looking for a particular fact or figure and can’t find it below, don’t hesitate to send us an email and we’ll help you out.
Bicycle usage
EC 2010, Eurobarometer: future of transport analytical report. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_312_en.pdf
Bicycle usage – Children
Across the globe, the percentage of kids that walk or cycle to school has decreased from 82% to
14% within the last 30 years.
Health benefits
The health benefits of cycling outweigh the safety risks by a factor of 20 to one.
Source – Hillman, M., 1992 in Cavill, N., and Davis, A., 2007, Cycling & Health: What’s the evidence, Cycling, England.
Cyclists on average live two years longer than non-cyclists and take 15% fewer days off work through illness.
Source – CTC, Safety in numbers – halving the risk of cycling, p4, CTC, Surrey.
An adult who cycles regularly will typically have a level of fitness equivalent to being 10 years younger.
Source - Tuxworth, B. 1986, Quality control. Sport and Leisure, 1986 Vol. 27 No. 3 pp. 32-33
Countries with the highest levels of cycling and walking generally have the lowest obesity rates.
Source – Bassett, Jr., et al., 2008 Walking, cycling, and obesity rates in Europe, North America, and Australia, Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 5, 795-814.
Cycling has a positive effect on emotional health – improving levels of well-being, self-confidence and tolerance to stress while reducing tiredness, difficulties with sleep and a range of medical symptoms
Source - Boyd, H., Hillman, M., Nevill, A., Pearce, A. and Tuxworth, B. (1998). Health-related effects of regular cycling on a sample of previous non-exercisers, Resume of main findings.
People cycling to work ‘mortality rate is 28% below the average population.
Enviromental benefits
When the complete life cycle of the following modes are taken into account, the carbon emissions are approximately:
- Bicycle, 21 g CO2/passenger/km traveled
- Electric-assist bicycle, 22 g CO2/passenger/km traveled
- Passenger car, 271 g CO2/passenger/km traveled
- Bus, 101 CO2/passenger/km traveled
A bicycle commuter who rides 8 Km to work, four days a week, avoids 3220 Km of driving a year, the equivalent of 380 L of gasoline saved and 750Kg of CO2 emissions avoided.
Source: Thomas gotschi, Ph .D . and Kevin Mills, J .D 2008, Active Transportation for America – The Case for Increased Federal Investment in Bicycling and Walking, p23, Rails to trails conservancy, Washington DC.
Safety
Cycling isn’t as risky as commonly thought, with just one death every 32 million kilometres – that’s over 800 times around the world.
source – CTC, Safety in numbers – halving the risk of cycling, p4.
Safety in numbers
Countries with the lowest levels of cycle use have the poorest cyclist safety records.
Source – Jacobsen PL. 2003, Safety in numbers: more walkers and bicyclists, safer walking and bicycling. Injury Prevention, 2003;9:205-209
The relationship between the number of cyclists and the number of casualties among cyclists involved in car accident is inverse. (The more cyclists, the less accidents among them).
Source – Hydén, C., A. Nilson & R. Risser (1998), WALCYNG. How to enhance WALking and CYcliNG instead of shorter car trips and make these modes safer. European Commission: WALCYNG.
For more info – ECF Factsheet – safety in numbers
Helmet legislation
Drivers overtaking cyclists passed an average of 8.5 cm closer to those wearing helmets.
When Australia introduced mandatory cycle helmet law. Bicycle usage dropped by 30%.
source – Robinson DL. Safety in numbers in Australia: more walkers and bicyclists, safer walking and bicycling. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 2005;16:47-51
The relationship between the number of cyclists and the number of casualties among cyclists involved in car accident is inverse. (The more cyclists, the less accidents among them).
Source – Hydén, C., A. Nilson & R. Risser (1998), WALCYNG. How to enhance WALking and CYcliNG instead of shorter car trips and make these modes safer. European Commission: WALCYNG.
Bicycle Sales
Source: European Bicycle Market 2010 Edition, COLIBI-COLIPED
Cargo bikes – bicycle logistics
25% of all urban goods could be delivered by bicycle. This figure rises to 50% when we are refering to light goods.
ECF, Factsheet – cycling logistics: the future of goods delivery.
Integrating cycling and public transport
By integrating cycling into a daily commute, one can increase the catchment area of public transport hubs. By adding a 10 minute cycle for instance, one can increase the catchment area of a bus stop up to 15 folds: 35km2 rather than just 2 km2.
In the Flemish region of Belgium 22% of all trips to the station are made by bicycle. In the Netherlands, 39% of journeys to the train station are done by bike.
Supervised storage and basic bicycle racks are a common standard in many Dutch train stations. There are 93 cycle stations with an average of 1,000 bicycles bicycle spaces, but in some cases up to 10,000.
For more information:
Bike sharing schemes
By the begining of 2012, they were 400 bike sharing schemes globally.
Velib’, the Parisian bike sharing scheme, launched in 2007, now has 20 000 bicycles and 1800 bike stations (one every 300 m). They are 40 000- 120 000 bike trips done every day using Velib’.
For more information on bike sharing schemes:
Economic benefits of cycle tourism
Cycling is good for the rural economy. A visiting cyclist spends an average of £25/day on locally provided food and services, compared to car-borne visitor’s £7.30. Car users bring what they’ll need with them, whereas cyclists can’t. Because of the exercise: cyclists feel hungrier when they stop and that they’ve earned the right to pamper themselves.
Source: CTC’s new vision for cycling
