The 12 largest bicycle sharing systems in Europe offer health and economic benefits. Currently, the use of shared bicycles by people who previously used their cars avoids 5 deaths and saves 18 million euros per year. If all public bicycle trips were made by previous car users, 73 deaths and 226 million euros would be saved every year. These are the conclusions of a new study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by the “la Caixa” Foundation.
The 12 largest bicycle sharing systems in Europe offer health and economic benefits. Currently, the use of shared bicycles by people who previously used their cars avoids 5 deaths and saves 18 million euros per year. If all public bicycle trips were made by previous car users, 73 deaths and 226 million euros would be saved every year. These are the conclusions of a new study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by the “la Caixa” Foundation.
Bicycle sharing systems have become very popular in several cities worldwide. In 2013, there were an estimated 500 services of this type across the planet. In Spain alone, there are almost 100, notably in Barcelona, with 6,000 bicycles or in Valencia or Seville, with 2,000 units each.
The study, published in Environment International, analyses the 12 most important bicycle sharing systems in Europe - all with more than 2,000 units – in 6 countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain). Nine have mechanical bicycles, two (Barcelona and Milan) combine electric and mechanical bikes, and one (Madrid) has only electric bikes. In fact, this is the first study to include the impact of electric bicycles.
Based on the Health Impact Assessment method developed by the researchers, they analysed the health benefits and risks of substituting car trips by trips on bicycles belonging to the shared systems. Using data of transport and health surveys and registers of pollution and traffic accidents, they estimated the number of annual deaths due to lack of physical activity, traffic accidents, and air pollution exposure (PM2.5 particles).
Read more at Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)
Photo Credit: sferrario1968 via Pixabay
