Big biking payoff alternative transportation could net Midwest over $8 billion

摘要

A New Year's resolution to bike rather than drive for short trips could improve both personal health and regional air quality. A team led by researchers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison is the first to quantify these benefits in the United States to show they may have a significant economic payoff [EHP 120(l):68-76; Grabow et al.].In 2010 another team concluded that the health benefits of biking substantially outweigh the risks posed by accidents and exposure to pollution based on a literature review comparing the use of cars and bikes for trips under 5 miles [EHP 118(8):1109-1116]. The new study expands that concept by combining data on transportation,automotive emissions, and health effects of exposure to air pollution to estimate how switching to biking for round trips under 5 miles could impact both air quality and health care costs. Short trips contribute disproportionately to air pollution because a large fraction of toxic automotive emissions, including 25% of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and 19% of the primary fine particulate matter (PM, ), are generated in the first few miles of travel before pollution control devices have reached their operating temperatures.