Comments on: Copenhagen Cycle Ambassador Says Bikes Are Hot

By: Paul B

Paul B — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:44:38 +0000

My daily bike commute here is 5.5 miles each way, which non-bike-users seem to consider kind of far. So I was wondering about a place where it's a more established practice.

By: Sarah Goodyear

Sarah Goodyear — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:57:11 +0000

Paul B,

I'm not sure about the average, but I think somewhere in the neighborhood of five miles is common.

By: Paul B

Paul B — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:27:41 +0000

What's the average bike commute distance in Copenhagen?

By: Charles Komanoff

Charles Komanoff — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:03:33 +0000

danlatorre + BicyclesOnly --

Thanks for peering into the BTA. It is dense. I'd love to talk off-line (I'm at kea@igc.org) about how to make it easier to follow -- within the constraints of its being a powerful computational tool aimed largely at other purposes (traffic pricing, congestion costs, transit optimization).

I think the idea of a Twitteresque encapsulation of the per-mile societal benefits from cycling is a bit of a chimera. I'll try to write about that sometime. Stay tuned.

By: danlatorre

danlatorre — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:33:01 +0000

Oops, I meant to write: Something pithy, something simple.

By: danlatorre

danlatorre — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:31:46 +0000

Charles, that spreadsheet is very dense as BO said, and considering Mikael's talk was about the value of *great marketing*, what's a good headline or Twitterable stat of the sort that Mikael gave about cost/savings per mile?

We need a nugget to grab attention, that hits the econ gut of policy/gov people, that at the same time makes sense to your average citizen. Something pity, something simple. What would that 110 character one-liner be?

By: john

john — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:23:54 +0000

Brain damage not sexy? Then American football is overrated, cycling should rule.

By: s

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:38:31 +0000

Not suffering from brain damage is sexy, from what the ladies tell me.

By: BicyclesOnly

BicyclesOnly — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:36:14 +0000

Thanks for the reminder, Charles, and the correction, Moocow. I must confess I found the BTA a bit scary when you first rolled it out, but I looked at the portiion of the tab you mention and I see that that you caculate a $203 million annual savings due to increased longevity with an increase of 0.77% in non-walking modal share enjoyed by cycling. The basic appraoch, data and assumptions could be used to model the savings from reduction in traffic congestion and pollution for each MV VMT converted to a bicycle VMT. I tried to come up with a savings in time and other factors for each MV trip eliminated from the MVs tab in the BTA, and it seems like the necessary data and assumptions are there to do that, but it was beyond me.

By: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Clarence Eckerson Jr. — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:21:49 +0000

I recently "inherited" a sexy helmet. Never thought I would ever think I looked good in one, but this one I look a little alright.

By: Moocow

Moocow — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:08:34 +0000

BO, wasn't it per mile? Either way, I remember 16 cents is what it cost the gvmt per unit, operating a motorized vehicle.
That was a great talk at the City Bakery, glad I made it.

By: Ed

Ed — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:34:24 +0000

Thanks for coming Mikael! Wish I'd been able to see you.
hope you enjoyed your stay.

By: Dottie

Dottie — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:21:39 +0000

I'm with him on the sexy-helmet issue. I will wear a helmet, but please don't make me pretend it's sexy. There are reasons to do things that don't involve attracting a mate.

By: Charles Komanoff

Charles Komanoff — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:13:09 +0000

BicyclesOnly -- I've taken a stab at the "similar statistics for NYC" that you and PSW seem to covet. It's in the Cost-Benefit "tab" of the Balanced Transportation Analyzer spreadsheet, in the section, "H. Longevity Benefits of Increased Cycling and Walking" starting at Row 375, where I estimate the rise in cycling and walking that would result from a reduction in motor vehicle traffic, and then estimate the reduction in mortality due to the increase in physical activity. The BTA can be downloaded with this link. Why more NYC transpo wonks and even general S'blog readers haven't taken it out for a spin is a mystery to me. Hmm, should I try to remedy that by staging a special BTA event? How about a weekend bike-tour/BTA-tour -- bike ride over the GWB to the end of River Road and back, followed by a 2-hour spin through the BTA at my FiDi office? Who pays for lunch?

By: BicyclesOnly

BicyclesOnly — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:42:38 +0000

"And of course, the benefit to the people and the city, whose citizenry is engaged with the life of its streets, is incalculable." At his talk the previous evening downton, Colville-Anderson quoted the statistic that non-bicyclists cost the state $X per year (I can't recall the exact figure) in public health, traffic congestion and other related costs, while bicyclists save the state $0.25 per year. As Paul White commented, it would be sooo useful to have an economist calculate similar statistics for NYC. Any takers?