… and boost the economy

More generally, driving anywhere, as we do, has been shown to impose a net cost to the economy of 95p per mile, compared to cycling which actually benefits the economy by 52p per mile. That’s because with a car dependent society, those costs soon mount up –whether from extra road building and maintenance, ill-health through pollution and sedentary lifestyles, death and injury from road crashes, the extra time and distance travelled that car-dependency imposes, or simply the direct costs to an individual of running a car. Most of these costs are either tiny when cycling, or because of increased efficiency and reduced health costs, they add value! No matter which way you spin it, both the national and local economy benefits when more people cycle and fewer people drive

5 Boost cycling to preserve what we love and where we live

It is well understood that cycling is a much greener way of moving than all the alternatives bar walking. It counts double when you consider the localised air pollution from exhausts, tyre wear and brake dust, plus the global impact of greenhouse gasses that motorised vehicles emit.

By contrast, cycling has minimal impact on the immediate environment that we inhabit, and on the global legacy we’ll bequeath to our grandchildren. Cycling shows its light environmental touch in other ways, too. Consider, its lack of noise pollution. Consider also its effect on our built environment, leaving the precious historical bits of our city untouched and not fuelling rampant outof-town commercial development with its insatiable thirst for more roads and car parks that gobble up green belt and countryside.

Historic cities like York were never built for cars but are very well adapted for bicycles.