Research: Quantifying the benefits of bicycling and active transportation - VTPI

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This report describes methods for evaluating the benefits and costs of active transport(walking, cycling, and their variants, also called non-motorized and human-powered travel). It describes various types of benefits, costs and methods for measuring them.

These include direct benefits to users from improved active transport conditions, various benefits to society from increased walking and cycling activity, reduced motor vehicle travel, and more compact and multi-modal community development.

It discusses active transport demands and ways to increase walking and cycling activity. This analysis indicates that many active transport benefits tend to be overlooked or undervalued in conventional transport economic evaluation.

Link: 

Research: Quantifying the benefits of bicycling and active transportation - VTPI

MoBikeFed comment: This type of research shows the full value of investment in facilities and programs for bicycling and other active transportation options. This is the type of information that policy makers and others making decisions about transportation priorities and policies need to know.

As the article outlines, the full value of bicycling and active transportation investment has long been overlooked, while the value of roads, highways, and other motorized transportation options has been overstated and the damage and negative outcomes--everything from injuries and fatalities to impact on public health and the environment--has been almost entirely overlooked.