Environmental Statistics
- There are 800 million car parking spaces in the U.S., totaling 160 billion square feet of concrete and asphalt. The environmental impact of all car parking spaces adds 10 percent to the CO2 emissions of the average automobile.
Chester, M., et al., 2010
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Unnecessary vehicle idling in New York City:
- Costs drivers $28 million a year
- Causes as much smog-forming pollution as 9 million large trucks driving from the Bronx to Staten Island
- Wastes the gasoline equal to 40,000 cars driving from Midtown to JFK
Burgess, E., et al., 2009
- 43% of Denver bike sharing service, B-cycle, members said they used the bikes to replace car trips.
Denver B-cycle, 2010
Denver B-cycle finishes successful first season with 102,000 B-cycle rides
- In 2008, the number of miles Americans drove declined by three percent. In the same year, traffic congestion dropped 30 percent.
Carol, 2009
The Tipping Point, CEOs for Cities blog, 3 March 2009
- The transportation sector is responsible for 71% of all U.S. petroleum use.
Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2010
- A recent study of Barcelona’s bike sharing program, Bicing, found that the health benefits of using the system outweigh the risks by a ratio of 77 to one. The study also estimated that Bicing reduces carbon dioxide emissions by more than 9,000 metric tons every year.
Rojas-Rueda, D., et al., 2011
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When the complete life cycle of the following modes are taken into account, the carbon emissions are approximately:
- Bicycle, 21 g CO2/passenger/km traveled
- Electric-assist bicycle, 22 g CO2/passenger/km traveled
- Passenger car, 271 g CO2/passenger/km traveled
- Bus, 101 CO2/passenger/km traveled
European Cyclists' Federation, 2011
Cycle more often 2 cool down the planet: Quantifying CO2 savings of cycling
- When car travel restrictions reduced morning traffic by 23% during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, ozone concentrations decreased 28% and acute care visits for asthma decreased 41%.
Friedman, M., et al., 2001
- A San Francisco Bay Area study found that increasing biking and walking from 4 to 24 minutes a day on average would reduce cardiovascular disease and diabetes by 14% and decrease GHGE by 14%.
Maizlish, N. et al 2012
- 89% of Americans believe that transportation investments should support the goals of reducing energy use.
National Association of Realtors and Transportation for America, 2009
2009 Growth and Transportation Survey
- Bicyclists in Philadelphia ride 260,000 miles daily, saving 47,450 tons of CO2 from being emitted by cars each year.
Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, 2008
Double Dutch: Bicycling Jumps in Philadelphia
- If 5% of New Yorkers commuting by private car or taxi switched to biking to work, they could save 150 million pounds of CO2 emissions per year, equivalent to the amount reduced by planting a forest 1.3 times the size of Manhattan.
Transportation Alternatives, 2008
Rolling Carbon: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Commuting in New York City
- If 10% of NYC commuters biked to work instead of driving or taking transit just once per week, they could save 120 million pounds of CO2 emissions per year, equivalent to the amount released by the homes of 25,000 New Yorkers.
Transportation Alternatives, 2008
Rolling Carbon: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Commuting in New York City
- If the number of kids who walk and bike to school returned to 1969 levels, it would save 3.2 billion vehicle miles, 1.5 million tons of CO2 and 89,000 tons of other pollutants annually. This is the equivalent of keeping more than 250,000 cars off the road for a year.
Pedroso, M., 2008
Safe Routes to School: Steps to a Greener Future
- Half of U.S. schoolchildren are dropped off at school in the family car. If 20% of those living within two miles of school were to bike or walk instead, it would save 4.3 million miles of driving per day. Over a year, that saved driving would prevent 356,000 tons of CO2 and 21,500 tons of other pollutants from being emitted.
Pedroso, M., 2008
Safe Routes to School: Steps to a Greener Future
- A 5% increase in the walkability of a neighborhood is associated with a per capita 32.1% increase in active travel, 6.5% fewer miles driven, 5.6% fewer grams of NOx emitted, and 5.5% fewer grams of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted.
Frank, L., et al., 2006
- If all Americans between 10 and 64 were to bicycle instead of drive for 60 minutes a day, the resulting reduction in CO2 emissions would be 11% of 1990 net US emissions.
Higgins, P., and M. Higgins, 2005
A healthy reduction in oil consumption and carbon emissions, Energy Policy, 22, 1-4
- A 40% obese population requires 19% more food energy, resulting in an extra 0.4-1.0 Giga tonnes of CO2 emissions per year (for a population of 1 billion).
Edwards, P., and I. Roberts, 2009
Population adiposity and climate change, International Journal of Epidemiology
- More CO2 is emitted by the United States' transportation sector than any other nation's entire economy, except for China.
Greene, D., and Schafer, A., 2003
in Pedroso, M., 2008, Safe Routes to School: Steps to a Greener Future
- 20 billion extra pounds of CO2 are released annually due to overweight and obesity in the US.
Jacobson, S., and D. King, 2009
- Bicycle traffic in Copenhagen prevents 90,000 tons of CO2 from being emitted annually.
City of Copenhagen, 2006
- A reduction in carbon dioxide emissions through an increase in biking and walking for transportation has greater health benefits for a population than from the increased use of lower-emission motor vehicles. An increase in active transportation is estimated to reduce 500 fatalities per million inhabitants in cities such as Delhi and London.
Woodcock, J., et al., 2009
- A 10 cent per gallon increase in the gasoline tax would reduce carbon emissions from vehicles in the United States by about 1.5%.
Davis, L., and L. Kilian, 2009
- If 20% of Madison, Wisconsin commuters biked to work, it would save 16,687 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, a value of $366,577. If 20% of Milwaukee commuters biked to work, it would save 40,718 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, a value of $821,282.
Grabow, M., et al., 2010
Valuing Bicycling's Economic and Health Impacts in Wisconsin, January 2010
- If 20% of short car trips were replaced by bicycle trips in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, it would prevent 57,405 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted, a value of $1.2 million.
Grabow, M., et al., 2010
Valuing Bicycling's Economic and Health Impacts in Wisconsin, January 2010
- The air quality improvement and reduced greenhouse gas emissions due to bicycling in Wisconsin is worth more than $90 million every year.
Grabow, M., et al., 2010
Valuing Bicycling's Economic and Health Impacts in Wisconsin, January 2010
- Increasing the mode share of all trips made by bicycling and walking from 12% to 15% could lead to fuel savings of 3.8 billion gallons a year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 33 million tons per year. This is equivalent to replacing 19 million conventional cars with hybrids.
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, 2008
Active Transportation for America
- A NASA analysis found that motor vehicles are the greatest contributor to atmospheric warming because they release pollutants and greenhouse gases that promote warming, while emitting few aerosols that counteract it.
NASA, 2010
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