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How bikes benefit non-bikers and can make life in cities much better.

Cycling is fundamentally moving between places, so it is natural to consider using a bike to commute or run errands. However, in many cities, it is inconvenient, unpleasant, and potentially dangerous. But what if it wasn't that way? I thought it would be cool for people who like to cycle, but after visiting places where a developed cycling infrastructure works well, I learned that it is remarkably useful for everyone, and that is what this post is about.

I'll start by addressing why even someone who either likes to drive or is unable to cycle should still consider the benefits of others using bikes, and conclude by how cities (can) make it happen.

Easing Congestion

When you have an environment where everyone goes around by car, the roads get inevitably congested, even on impressive multi-lane highways, like this:

Many of the people stuck in traffic aren't car enthusiasts. They just want to get from points A to B and take whichever transportation mode is convenient; so, when the alternatives are equally good or even better than driving, they use them, and the car roads are left only for those who enjoy or need them.

Now, some might ask: why bicycles and not other modes of transportation, like trains or buses? Well, it is not an either-or, black-and-white situation. Of course, there are situations where another mode of transportation, including cars and trucks, makes more sense, but I focus on bikes because they can do remarkably well for many standard errands. After all, in many cities, plenty of car journeys cover only a few miles, so it's not the distance that would be the issue. Nor is the payload capacity: in the cities where many people cycle, one can find a variety of options and styles for carrying loads:

Unlike public transportation, bikes offer the independence of going door-to-door without having to follow a set schedule, like cars. However, using bikes for transportation brings benefits that cars lack, which I cover below.

Saving Space

Bicycles have smaller footprints than cars, so their lanes can be narrower. But they make perhaps the biggest difference when it comes to parking. Look at the underground parking garage in the picture below; it fits roughly 100 bikes, but it would take under ten cars.

Even if every car were filled up to its capacity, which often isn't the case, it would require a much bigger space to serve the same number of people. Bike parking also reduces the distance between where you park and your destination. Many drivers spend time looking for a parking spot close to the entrance of wherever they go. With bikes, even if you arrive after 50 others, you walk only the distance as if you arrived within the first five cars.

Since bikes take up less space, cities with fewer cars can be more compact – making everything closer, so one doesn't need to go far and spend ages getting places. Furthermore, a big parking lot isn't the most exciting point of interest; using some of the most valuable downtown plots of land for it is pretty wasteful:

Saving Money and Fostering Independence

When you compare the bike and car parking above, it is easy to see which one is cheaper to construct. The same applies to roads. They also need a lower maintenance budget because bikes are lighter than other common vehicles, so wear and tear progresses more slowly. And just as the city can save cash, so can the users. Purchasing and repair expenses for a bike are generally much lower than those for a car, and insurance is optional. As for running costs, one can ride with their muscles only, so households that rely on bikes instead of cars or public transportation are more resilient when the world is in turmoil and energy prices soar. Since getting and running a bike is more financially accessible, more people can get to where they need to be and score better opportunities for themselves. Moreover, in places where it is safe to cycle, it is not rare to see children learning to bike at a young age, and soon start riding on their own.

This allows kids to be self-sufficient and learn independence better than in cities where everyone goes by car, because there, someone has to drive most children wherever they need to go until they can get their license and a car (which, of course, incurs more costs).

Helping the Environment

Besides the obvious lack of exhaust smoke, bikes are also much quieter, even compared to electric vehicles. Which type of traffic situation pictured below would you rather have outside of your home or office?

Moreover, as mentioned above, bikes don't take up as much space, so cities can devote more space to parks or whatever is deemed more pleasant and practical. In which of the environments pictured below would you rather commute?

Where would you rather spend a free afternoon?

Aiding Health

Like bikes help places look nicer, it works for people, too. You can find arrays of scientific studies highlighting the health benefits of cycling over driving; in practice, commuting in a cycling-friendly city often feels like visiting a model casting rather than a chore. Together with the arguments above, why wouldn't you want that?

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Okay, so let's say you want to get some people from cars onto bikes. But making it happen is not as trivial as it could seem. Many of the positive examples pictured above are from Belgium, Finland, and the Netherlands. So, it would be easy to assume that it only works there because they are rather flat countries. That's a misconception. The US, for example, is a country with plenty of flat cities, some of which have year-round weather more optimal than that of either Belgium, Finland, or the Netherlands. The US is also home to many bike enthusiasts with a decent disposable income, yet hardly anybody cycles to commute or run errands. People drive. So what's the difference?

Simply, while some cities encourage cycling, others discourage it. First, let's look at what I mean by cities discouraging people from cycling. They mostly lack bike lanes, and if there are any, they are likely tiny strips on a road shoulder with no protection, so I've seen drivers pull into them as if they were breakdown lanes, or even use them as parking.

Then, cyclists must join car traffic to continue their journey, which can be dangerous and feels crap for cyclists. It tends to get only worse at intersections, where the bike lane is often between the straight and turning lanes, so cars regularly cross it.

You can see that there are no cyclists in the photo above. It isn't because there is no desire to cycle; it's just that people desire to stay alive more. Bikes and cars just don't mix well, as they operate at different speeds, fields of view, and crash compatibility. Mixing bike lane into a highway is just a bad idea. I consider myself a keen biker, but there's no chance I'd enjoy riding in bike lanes like the one shown above. Can you imagine bringing a kid on a bike to that intersection? I sure wouldn't want to, and understandably, most parents wouldn't either. Those who really want to go by bike use sidewalks, where they clash with pedestrians, creating another problem rather than solving the first. It is not surprising that anyone who isn't into bikes already will never cycle here. You see, adapting cycling in cities isn't about bike enthusiasts. It is all about having an environment that works.

While many cities around the world have implemented decent bike infrastructure, nowhere have I experienced such a country-wide, methodical approach as in the Netherlands, so I will use it as the example. Let's go back to that instance of car roads that share the surface with bike lanes, then. In the Netherlands, they look like this:

Note the proportions: bikes get nearly equal estate as cars. Yes, this is a minor road carrying less traffic than the example from the US, but it is because you will never find such unprotected lanes on busier or faster roads. There, cyclists get dedicated paths like these:

This road has fewer car lanes than the highway-like avenue in the example from the US, but it can roughly carry the same number of people. Because so many people in the Netherlands cycle instead of driving, a bike path eliminates the need for an extra car lane. And when we get to intersections with some busier roads, there are dedicated traffic lights, like these:

You can see a button on the pole in front of the lights; pressing it lets the system know you are waiting. With these particular lights, I never waited more than seven seconds for the green light after pressing the button. Yet at many recently constructed crossroads, I got the green before I could press the button because they have efficient sensors monitoring traffic. Still, in most instances, a person on a bike doesn't even need to slow down. Tunnels or bridges commonly bypass highways and other major routes.

If there are cycling paths parallel to highways, they are often separated from motorized traffic by a safety and sound barrier, making them more bearable.

But even then, cycling beside cars and trucks rolling at speed is not great. Anyone who tried it knows. Sure, sometimes it is a logical decision, like on the pictured shared bridge, but in the countryside, it is much better to have them completely separated. Indeed, there are many alternatives that go through nature instead, and don't come close to car traffic at all:

Bike paths in nature, like the one above, can motivate people to try cycling, who could otherwise be reluctant. When they do, they will take that experience with them when they go behind the steering wheel next time and will likely have more empathy for cyclists than someone who has never had that firsthand experience. That is how the whole ecosystem can work: bikers are seen as full-fledged traffic participants, alongside cars, trucks, and buses. So much so that on less busy intersections, bike lanes often even have the right of way. That would never work in places where cyclists are treated as second-class citizens.

There you have it. When it is convenient and safe, people who don't even consider themselves as someone who is into sports cycle every day – making their city better for themselves, but also for those who don't ride.

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