We Must Promote Bicycle Use in Urban Centres

Many growing cities of the twenty-first century have a common problem: the overwhelming favouritism of cars over other, more environmentally friendly and less congestive methods of travel. Cars in large numbers cause traffic issues, accidents, and pollution [1]. The bicycle is among the most popular solutions to these problems, as bicycles are cheap for the user, healthy, and are a form of sustainable transportation. The two primary things to consider when encouraging bicycle usage are the cost and viability of implementation and the overall effectiveness of the solution [2, 3]. Considering this, the most influential factors affecting the bicycle’s modal share seem to be infrastructure and public initiatives to encourage bicycle use; of these factors, the most successful and cost-effective ways to encourage bicycle use are those that make cycling safer and more convenient for cyclists.

If the potential power of the bicycle was ever in doubt, a cost-benefit analysis was done in large Chinese Cities [2] to express the effectiveness of alternative modes of transit. In the study, bicycles were always found to be more cost-effective than rails, and in only some cases less effective than buses. Indeed, there are many benefits with few downsides; in the face of increasing evidence of the utility of the bicycle, “many government agencies and public health organizations have explicitly advocated more bicycling as a way to improve individual health as well as reduce air pollution, carbon emissions, congestion, noise, traffic dangers, and other harmful impacts of car use”[2]. It is clearly in the interest of the government to encourage bicycle use, especially to the detriment of single-occupancy vehicle usage.

Infrastructure is by fa...

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