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The health risks and benefits of cycling in urban environments compared with car use: health impact assessment study (EU)

This research report, published in the British Medical Journal in June 2011, estimates the risks and benefits to health of travel by bicycle, using a bicycle sharing scheme, compared with travel by car in an urban environment. The study used the public bicycle sharing initiative, Bicing, in Barcelona, Spain as its setting. The study found that by using the bike share scheme, the annual number of deaths avoided was 12.28 and annual carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by an estimated 9 062 344 kg.

The Bicing initiative is a policy measure that has been highly successful in terms of number of subscribers and led to a large increase in trips on bicycles, which is often hard to achieve. A previous study showed that interventions generally led to an average 3% increase in the prevalence of cycling in the population. Bicing so far has increased the number of cycling trips by 30%. Eleven per cent of the population in Barcelona subscribes to Bicing, although based on our estimates only 1.7% of the population are regular users.

We provide the first assessment of multiple risks and benefits of a policy implemented to promote cycling. Our work has shown that low cost public bicycle sharing systems aimed at encouraging commuters to cycle are worth implementing in other cities, not only for the health benefits but also for potential co-benefits such as a reduction in air pollution and greenhouse gases. Many cities worldwide have shown an interest in developing bicycle sharing schemes, and this assessment provides useful data in support of such solutions. Future work should refine the assessment and integrate a more comprehensive array of domains and outcomes (including, for example, morbidity), which will provide further indications of how to implement best active travel policies. This initial assessment is, however, important now to encourage cities to follow the lead of Barcelona and other major cities as a cost saving solution for alternative transportation and promotion of health.

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