In today’s world, going green is almost a necessity, and a kind gesture to Mother Earth that only takes small steps to make a big difference. Using a bicycle, instead of driving a car, is one way to help reduce the carbon footprint that you have on the Earth and reduce emissions in the atmosphere. When looking at America as compared to Europe, there seems to be a disparity between how the two use and view bicycles. America, largely car-dependent, has retrofitted its infrastructure that allows primarily for car usage. Many European cities, namely Amsterdam, has achieved the right balance of pedestrianism vs. bicycle advocacy vs. car usage to make it an extremely green city. So, what can America learn from Amsterdam? Let’s take a look.
Bike usage in America is prominent in major cities. New York City is working on implementing a bike share program while Washington, DC has an implemented bike share program. This doesn’t account for America’s smaller cities and suburbs, which many times are not particularly bike/pedestrian friendly. According to the U.S. bicycle advocacy group, Bikes Belong, the biking industry contributed $5.6 billion to the economy in 2009.
In America, 47% of people say that they would like more bike facilities in their communities and 71% say they want to bicycle more than they do now. Bicyclinginfo.org reports that American mostly considered using a bike for exercise, while a minority of people reported using their bicycle to commute to work. Furthermore, bicycling rates occur the highest in the Pacific states where around one percent of trips are made by bicycle, and the East-Central states have the lowest bicycle rates in the country, around a half a percent. The National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Attitudes and Behaviors in 2002 reports that 48.1% of bicycle users used paved roads, but not in the shoulder. People in America want to use the bicycle more, but various limitations prevent it from happening.
Let’s look to our liberal neighbors across the pond, Amsterdam. Although the first thought that comes to mind when thinking of Amsterdam could be a certain substance, another thought that comes to mind is the bicycle. According to Amsterdam Tips, an insider source for Amsterdam travelers, on any working day between 8 am and 9 am there will be approximately 2 million bicyclists on the road, on their way to work. Bike Europe reports that Amsterdammers use their bikes slightly more than they use their cars. The bottom line is, more Amsterdammers than not prefer to use their bikes than their cars because they view it as a more reliable way to get to where they need to be. However, according to Citiwire.net, biking was at an all-time low in the 1970′s. The oil crisis of the time made them realize that they need to lessen their dependence on oil, thus starting a conscious push for bicycle usage. Forty years later, it is now a leading model for being bicycle friendly and pedestrianism.
All-in-all, the bike will save you money on gas. Lower usage of cars and higher usage of bicycles will help to reduce emissions. Using a bicycle means you get to fuel yourself on a pastrami sandwich as opposed to fueling your car with gasoline. Statistics show that Americans today are more interested in using their bicycles, and this is certainly showing today. Here in New York City, there are more bikes lanes on the road and it’s becoming more and more popular.
Going by this data, maybe in 40 years pedestrians and bicycles will rule the streets in America. Do you think this is possible?
Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.
