[sustran] Velo Mondial 2000 and economic benefits of cycling

[Interface for Cycling Expertise]

Dear Paul,

As you may know, I-ce published at the Velo Mondial 2000 
conference the results of a study on Economic Benefits of Cycling. 
In reaction to your request from 4 July, I would like to present a 
summary.

The questions we asked ourselves were a.o.:
Is bicycle policy economically beneficial?
What are the largest economic benefits of cycling in different 
situations?
How to calculate economic benefits of cycling?
What part of the costs and benefits can be attributed to the bicycle 
and what part to other road users?

We did a literature survey to get illustratations from all over the 
world. The contents of the book is:
1. Overview: the potential of cycling for the individual and society
2. Th costs of traffic and transport facilities
3. Accessibility and use of space
4. The urban economy and the quality of life
5. Improving the environment
6. Health
7. Traffic Safety
8. The significance of the bicycle for employment
9. Travel costs and individual mobility.

Further we made calculations in four cities of the costs to invest in 
cycle facilities that will increase cycling use and of the benefits. 
The cities were Amsterdam, Bogota, Delhi and Morogoro (the last 
city is in Tanzania).
The benefits were divided in internal benefits of cycling policy 
(better health, employment opportunities, less travel time for 
cyclists, less stolen bikes and less travel costst) and reduced 
external costs of other modes (less investments in other modes, 
less congestion and use of space, better quality of life, less 
pollution, less road accidents). 

The approach of the cost benefit calculations consisted of 8 steps:
1. identify present modal split in transport and socio-economic 
situation
2. identify potential of the bicycle
3. estimate mode shift dus to good bicycle policy
4. calculate costs of bicycle policy
5. calculate internal benefits of new and existing cycling
6. determine reduction of external effects due to substituted trips 
by other modes
7. calculate external costs of other modes
8. calculate cost-benefits ratio

The approaches for the four cities differed. Mode change could be 
calculated with a model in Amsterdam, in Bogota it has been 
estimated and in Morogoro and Delhi assumptions have been 
made. In Amsterdam and Bogota more different kinds of benefits 
could be included, because of data available but also because 
some benefits are not relevant everywhere: e.g. a higher share of 
cycling does not lead to less motorised traffic in many cities in the 
south. 

The main conclusions are:
1. The benefits exceed the costs in all cities. For Amsterdam the 
ratio is 1 : 1.5, for Bogota 1 : 7; for Morogor 1 : 5; for Delhi (one 
corridor was involved int he study) 1 : 20.
2. The greatest contribution to the results come from improved 
mobility of cycling (so the internal benefits are higher than reduced 
external costs). This is also true for Amsterdam, where time 
savings for cyclists contribute to 41% of the benefits, bicycle theft 
to 20%, better health to 18%, road safety to 15%, pollution to 4% 
and infrastructure (less parking space for cars)  to 2%. In Bogota 
raod safety contribute to 50% of the benefits, infrastructure to 23%, 
user costs to 13%, pollution to 9% and congestion to 5%. In 
Morogoro only user costs and travel time were included in the 
benefits. In Delhi time savings contribute to 60% of the benefits, 
user costs to 31%, pollution to 7% and road safety to 2%.
The results indicate that improved mobility and less user costs 
contribute most to the economic significance of cycling facilities. 
All over the world, investment in cycling policy is profitable for 
citizens and society. 

The book costs 12.50 EURO plus costs for sending and can be 
ordered at I-ce via e mail: i-ce at cycling.nl

Roelof Wittink
Managing Director.
N.B. Please note change of fax number

**************************************
Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-ce)
Predikherenstraat 17
3512 TL Utrecht
The Netherlands
tel. +31 - 30 - 230 45 21
fax  +31 - 30 - 231 23 84
http://www.cycling.nl
**************************************