There are plenty of reasons for people of all political stripes to support biking from a fiscal responsibility angle. Check out the results of a new study of biking in 11 Midwestern cities:
They found that if the Midwesterners ran half of their short-distance errands by bike rather than by car, 1,100 deaths would be avoided each year, and $7 billion would be saved in reduced health-care costs. The trips were 2.5 miles one way; less than a 25-minute bike ride, the researchers figure.The benefits were based on a presumed reduction in air pollution particulates and ozone, which increase the risk of heart attack, strokes, and asthma. They also factored in the health benefits of increased exercise, and applied that to the 31 million people living in the Upper Midwest.
I believe now is the appropriate time for a Doug Merrit infographic we ran back in June:
