Squeaky Wheels Get the Grease: Comment of the Day

Why Bikes are Best!

The bicycle is the most efficient vehicle ever devised; a human on a bicycle is more efficient (in calories expended per pound and per mile) than a train, truck, airplane, boat, car, motorcycle or jet pack.

Nearly half of all trips in the North America are three miles or less; more than a quarter are less than a mile, distances easily covered by bike while saving you money and getting you fit.

Every mile traveled by bike rather than by car keeps one pound of climate-damaging carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, while reducing cash draining stops at the pump.

Bicycles outnumber automobiles almost two to one worldwide, and their production outpaces cars by three to one.

Of all the trips in the North America, just two-thirds of a percent are made by bicycle.

Only 1 percent of Canadian commuters report bicycling as their usual mode of transportation.

The average car produces about five tons of carbon dioxide per year. In the US, cars were the source of about one-third of global warming pollution in 2005.

If Americans replaced just one in five of their average length car trips by bicycling, each driver would spare the atmosphere more than one ton of carbon dioxide emissions. Collectively, the effect would be comparable to taking 48 million vehicles off the road.

Short car trips are the easiest to replace with a bike trip. Mile for mile, they are also the most polluting.

For each mile of new lane, the materials and machinery used to build a highway release between 1,400 and 2,300 tons of greenhouse gases.

Among major U.S. cities, those with extensive bicycle lanes have three times the rate of bike commuting compared to other cities.

Bike-friendly policies, from traffic calming to car free downtown zones, have boosted cycling rates in five European nations to 10 percent or more of urban trips; one-fifth of all trips in Danish cities are made by bike, and one-third in Dutch cities.

It costs as much as twenty times more to support a passenger mile of automobile traffic compared to one of bicycle traffic.

In the long run, the measures most crucial to getting more people on their feet and on their bikes are those that fight sprawl and encourage dense, livable cities. On average, city dwellers drive a third as much and half as fast as suburbanites.

Source: the "bicycle" chapter of Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet

Here is one of the public comments made today, January 25/2010, by a signatory of the petition.

I bike. But as a physician I also see the daily result of a population that does not move their bodies as part of their everyday lives. From knee replacements to back surgery, the provincial government pays.

Why on earth would a government that knows the escalating cost of healthcare discourage people from making fitness part of their everyday lives? Through a simple tax break, encourage everyone to get on their brand new funky bike to run one errand a day. There would be enormous payback in our healthcare. Please help decrease the weight and increase the fitness level of the people coming to my operating room.... better yet, prevent the need altogether! Bike. Cheaper. And don't get me started on the environmental impact too.....

Dr. Laura D., Vancouver B.C.

Update

Thank you for visiting squeakywheels.ca! I created this website to bring together cyclists from across BC who wanted to voice their opposition to the government’s decision to impose a new tax on cycling.

For almost thirty years, bikes (and bike expenses like repairs, helmets and locks) have been PST exempt. Why? Because successfive governments agreed it made no sense to tax such a healthy and environmentally-friendly form of transportation.

This rationale has only become stronger over time as we’ve learned more about the benefits of healthy living and the importance of reducing our carbon emissions. The more we can encourage people to ride bikes rather than drive cars, the better it is for everyone. It means less traffic congestion, less wear and tear on our roads and potentially lower health-care costs.

I wonder if the B.C. government can explain how jacking up the price of a bike is going to help make B.C. more sustainable or encourage people to make healthy lifestyle choices. How does this possibly advance B.C.’s Climate Action Plan?

A government that increases taxes on green transportation is traveling in the wrong direction.

I am of the view that we need to create incentives for green transportation and disincentives for more polluting forms of transportation. Standing up for cyclists as an Opposition MLA is one way that I can help keep the pressure on.

While we were unsuccessful in stopping the government from imposing the HST (on bicycles) we were part of a larger movement that has successfully kept alive the opposition to the HST.

Cyclists continue to argue that tax increases on green transportation options - like cycling - are a mistake. We are calling for provincial policy changes which will create incentives for people to choose greener ways to travel.

I will continue to make these arguments in and outside of the BC Legislature and I welcome your input and support.

Lana Popham

MLA Saanich South

lana.popham.mla@leg.bc.ca

Squeaky Wheels Get the Grease

Here's the bike rally route, 11am-1pm, Thurs 7 July 2011

Rally at the Legislature

Lana Popham's Twitter Feed

Why Bikes are Best!

The petition is now closed.

Check out the Petition Comments

Comment of the Day

Update