A new study has calculated for the first time the health benefits of urban cycling in 17 countries and concluded that more than 200,000 deaths could be avoided by 2050 worldwide if only countries supported more urban cycling, according to has published in the journal “Environmental Health Perspectives”.
According to this research team, which has been led by Colorado State University (in the United States), up to 205,424 premature deaths a year could be avoided if countries supported high levels of urban bicycle use. The study modeled benefits of promoting urban cycling until 2050 and if 100% of bicycle trips replace car trips.
Bicycle use policies can be beneficial to avoid mortality
David Rojas-Rueda, a doctor from CSU, who has directed the research project, in collaboration with scientists from the Barcelona Institute of Global Health and is the main author of the study, explains that the team discovered that global policies for the use of Cycling can provide significant mortality benefits for years to come.
As he underlined, “this study should be seen as a call to apply policies that support sustainable mobility and healthy urban design … Current policies will have an impact on our future and the health of future generations.”
The study compared current trends in cycling with high levels of urban cycling in 17 countries: Germany, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, the United States, France, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, UK and Russia.
Investing in walking facilities and public transportation is also recommended
Regarding the scenarios of high bicycle use in 2050, they were based on policies that have shown a rapid increase in levels of bicycle use, such as improving the cycling infrastructure on existing roads to create networks on arterial streets, small residential streets and interurban highways, the introduction of bike-sharing systems in large cities, or reforming laws and enforcement practices to better protect active transportation.
In addition, investment in walking facilities and public transport is recommended to offer trips that can be combined with bicycle trips; eliminate policies that support additional motor vehicle use, such as free parking and fuel subsidies, and set congestion fees, travel fees, and development impact fees to charge a price for driving.