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Facts and stats

 
  • According to a survey of Washington, D.C. Bike to Work Day participants, 17 percent said they had never bike commuted before the event, 10 percent started riding to work after the event, and 22 percent started riding more often. (National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board) 
  • Sales of new cars have almost halved in the U.S, down from nearly 11 million in 1985 to about 5.5 million in 2009. (New Scientist)
  • The fraction of American 17-year-olds with a driver's licence has fallen from about three-quarters to about half since 1998. (New Scientist)
  •  In the US, the average car on the average journey carries 1.7 people, half a person less than in 1970. (New Scientist)
  • The typical metropolitan household without a vehicle can reach over 40 percent of metro-wide jobs via transit within 90 minutes, exceeding the 29 percent transit access share for households with a vehicle. (Brookings Institute)
  • Over 90 percent of zero-vehicle households in large metropolitan areas live in neighborhoods with access to transit service of some kind. (Brookings Institute)
  • In the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, 7.5 million households do not have access to a private automobile. (Brookings Institute)
  • Americans drove 3.6% fewer miles in 2008 than 2007. (The Real Estate of America Atlas by Cynthia Enloe and Joni Seager)
  • Building bike lanes and other cycling infrastructure creates an average of 11.4 jobs for every $1 million spent, according to a new study that analyzed data from Concord and 10 other U.S. cities. That included six direct jobs like construction workers and engineers, 2.4 indirect jobs such as sign manufacturers and three "induced" jobs in industries like food service that see increased demand. (Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst)
  • Road-only projects, like repaving and widening, create an average of 7.8 jobs per $1 million, including four direct jobs, according to the study. On average, all projects together created about nine jobs per $1 million, including 4.7 direct jobs. (Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst)
  • The age group of 40 to 64 more than doubled its share of bicycle trips in the U.S., from 10% to 21%, between 2001 and 2009, a period when the number of daily bike commuters rose by nearly 100%. At the same time, the share of cycling trips made by women fell from 33% to 24%. (John Pucher of Rutgers University)
  • The percentage of U.S. commuters using bicycles is lowest in Alabama, Tennessee, and West Virginia (0.1%) and highest in the District of Columbia and Oregon (1.9%), but the continent's highest rates are in Yukon (2.6%) and the Northwest Territories (2.15), two of the coldest parts of Canada. (Transportation Research)
  • The number of U.S. trips made by bike doubled between 1990 and 2009.  (Federal Highway Administration)
  • A study of more than 18,000 middle-aged women found that those who bicycled regularly put on less weight as they aged.  (Archives of Internal Medicine)
  • New York City residents save $19 billion every year by using alternative transportation.  If NYC residents drove as much as residents of other big cities, they would own 4.5 million additional cars, consume 2.4 billion more gallons of gas, and produce 23 million more tons of carbon emissions each year.  (NYC Dept. of Transportation)
  • In 2008, vehicle miles traveled decreased by 4% in the US.  This resulted in 30% less congestions at peak traffic hours.  (INRIX)
  • Nearly one third of commuters in the Boston area use public transportation.  (Transportation for America)
  • Federal law does NOT hold SUVs and light trucks to strict emissions standards placed on passenger vehicles.  (Transportation for America)
  • In just one U.S. generation, the percentage of kids who walk to bike to school has dropped from 50% to 15%, while childhood obesity has tripled.  (Bikes Belong Coalition)
  • The U.S. could import 462 million fewer gallons of gasoline a year by increasing cycling from 1% to 1.5% of all trips.  (Bikes Belong Coalition)
  • On a round-trip commute of 10 miles, bicyclists save roughly $10 daily and spare the air 10 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, while burning 360 calories in the process.  (Bikes Belong Coalition)
  • Bicycling for transportation can reduce mortality by 35 to 40%.  (Bikes Belong Coalition)
  • The average American household spends over $8,000 per year on owning and driving their cars.  It costs about $300 a year to maintain a bike.  (U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics)
  • Despite having only 5% of the world’s population, vehicles in the US contribute 45% of the world’s motor vehicle greenhouse gases.  (Environmental Defense Fund)
  • Amtrak revenues cover nearly 80% of the company’s operating cost.  (Amtrak)
  • 89% of US passenger transportation uses highways, compared to the 0.6% that uses rail service.  (Bureau of Transportation Statistics)
  • The average American household will spend $2,200 on gas each year.  (Transportation for America)
  • Forty percent of all trips in America are two miles or less.  Seventy-four percent of these trips are made by car.  (Transportation for America)
  • Around the world road traffic injuries take the lives of 145 people every hour of  everyday. This is more than two lives a minute. 90% of these facilities occur in the world's rapidly urbanizing low- and middle-income nations. (Mayor Bloomberg's press release)
  • 74 million new cars hit the world's roads each year. 64 new cars a minute. (Mayor Bloomberg's press release)
  • The World Health Organization predicts that traffic crashes will become the world's 5th leading cause of death by 2030. (WHO)
  • Transporation is the second largest expense for households in the United States, costing more than food, clothing and health care. (Transportation for America)
  • More than 80% of the nation's transit systems are considering or have recently enacted fare increases or service cuts, including reductions in rush-hour service, off-peak service and geographic coverage. (American Public Transportation Association)
  • Households earning $20,000 to $35,000 annually and located far from job centers spend 70% of their income on housing and transporation combined. (Transporation for America)
  • 50% of older people in the United States stay home on a given day because they lack transporation options.  (Transporation for America)
  • Repair work on road and bridges generates 16% more jobs than construction of new roads and bridges. (Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts)
  • More than four-in-five voters (82%) say that the "United States would benefit from an expanded and improved public transportaion system, such as rail and buses." (Transportation for America)
  • Every $1 billion invested in public transporation capital/operations creates or supports: 36,000 jobs, $3.6 billion on sales, nearly $500 million in federal, state and local tax revenues. (Economic Development Research Group)
  • If 20 of our nation's metropolitan areas shifted 50% of their highway funds to transit, they would create over 1.1 million new transit-related jobs over 5 years-without a single dollar of new spending. (Transportation Equity Network)
     

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