Cost of automobiles and dependence on foreign oil

• Nearly 1 million people have died in motor vehicle crashes in the last 25 years in the U.S. In 2014, about 90 people died every day in car crashes. AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2015  - 2015 Traffic Safety Culture Index
• The average fuel efficiency of today's U.S. vehicle fleet has increased just 3.6 MPG since the days of the Ford Model T. Fuel efficiency has barely increased since 1991. Sivak, M., and Schoettle, B., 2015  - Fuel Efficiency of Vehicles on US Roads: 1923–2016, Energy Policy, 37, 3168-3170
• In 2014, congestion caused 6.9 billion hours of travel delay and 3.1 billion gallons of wasted fuel, equaling a cost of more than $160 billion. Schrank, D. et al., 2015  - 2015 Urban Mobility Scorecard
• One mile of roadway planned through Golden Gate Park is 1,283 times more expensive to San Franciscans than one mile of protected bike lane. San Francisco Bicycle Coalition  - No, protected bike lanes are probably not too expensive for your city to build
• The US is responsible for a quarter of global oil consumption. The transportation sector accounts for two-thirds of this. US Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2007  - in Jacobson, S., and D. King, 2009, Measuring the potential for automobile fuel savings in the US: The impact of obesity, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 14, 6-13

Cost of inactivity, overweight, and obesity

• Bicycling generates $137 million annually in economic benefits to Northwest Arkansas. “While the energy generated by trails and paved paths is palpable across Northwest Arkansas, these findings validate cycling as a regional economic engine that supports local businesses, attracts tourists and builds healthier communities,” said Tom Walton, Home Region Program Committee chair.
  Walton Family Foundation, 2018  - Bicycling Provides $137 Million in Economic Benefits to Northwest Arkansas.
• If cycling participation increased enough to reduce obesity by about 3%, national medical expenditures could be reduced by $6 billion. Rashad, I., 2008  - Cycling: An increasingly untouched source of physical and mental health, National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series, 12929
• The annual cost of obesity to employers ranges from $175 for every overweight male employee to $2,485 for every grade-II (BMI 30-40) obese female. Finkelstein, E., et al., 2005  - The costs of obesity among full-time employees, American Journal of Health Promotion, 20, 45-51
• The annual individual medical cost of inactivity ($622) is more than 2 ½ times the annual cost per user of bike and pedestrian trails ($235). Wang, G., et al., 2004  - Cost analysis of the built environment: The case of bike and pedestrian trails in Lincoln, Neb, American Journal of Public Health, 94, 549-53

Economic benefits of bicycling facilities and transportation

• The Headwaters Economics Trails Benefits Library is a collection of studies on the positive impacts of trails, especially in small or medium-sized towns and rural areas. The library is searchable by type of benefit, use, year, and region.
  Headwaters Economics Trail Benefits Library  - Browse
• New research from Portland State University finds that proximity to a network of high-quality bike facilities such as protected bike lanes, buffered bike lanes, and bike boulevards, is associated with an increase in property values.
  Liu, J., Shi, W., 2016  - Impact of Bike Facilities on Residential Property Prices
• The Urban Land Institute recently published a series of findings linking economic development with bicycling in the U.S. and globally. For example, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail cost the city $62.5 million to build and yielded a $1.01 billion increase in property values adjacent to the trail. Urban Land Institute, 2016  - Active Transportation and Real Estate
• Trails in the Miami Valley of Ohio attract about 90,000 visitors who spend $13 million on goods and services related to their use of the trails every year. Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, 2013  - Miami Valley Trail User Survey Report
• Each kilometer cycled in Denmark produces an estimated benefit of 24 cents for all of society; each kilometer driven, meanwhile, costs society about 84 cents. Copenhagen City of Cyclists  - Copenhagen City of Cyclists: Bicycle Account 2014
• A Toronto study found that customers arriving by foot and bicycle visited the most often and spent the most money per month. The Clean Air Partnership, 2010 -Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business: Year 2 Report

Economic benefits of the bicycling industry and tourism

• Recent research found that mountain bike visitors spend $30.2 million per year in the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests. Resident mountain bikers in Western North Carolina spent an additional $18 million.
  Outdoor Alliance, 2017  - The Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests: An economic powerhouse for western North Carolina
• Bicycling generates $137 million annually in economic benefits to Northwest Arkansas. “While the energy generated by trails and paved paths is palpable across Northwest Arkansas, these findings validate cycling as a regional economic engine that supports local businesses, attracts tourists and builds healthier communities,” said Tom Walton, Home Region Program Committee chair.
  Walton Family Foundation, 2018  - Bicycling Provides $137 Million in Economic Benefits to Northwest Arkansas.
• The Wisconsin bicycle industry brings $556 million and 3,420 jobs to the state. Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Department of Transportation  - The Economic Impact of Bicycling in Wisconsin
• The quality of bicycling in the northern Outer Banks region positively impacts vacationers' planning: 12% report staying three to four days longer to bicycle; 43% report that bicycling is an important factor in their decision to come to the area; 53% report that bicycling will strongly influence their decision to return to the area in the future. North Carolina Department of Transportation Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation, 2004  - The Economic Impact of Investments in Bicycle Facilities: A Case Study of the North Carolina Northern Outer Banks