Cycling Benefit #2: Healthier Lungs & Pollution Reduction

Researchers at Imperial College London found passengers in buses, taxis, and cars inhaled substantially more pollution and ultrafine particles, which can settle in the lungs and damage cells, than cyclists and pedestrians. Here’s the breakdown:

Taxi passengers >100,000 cm3
Bus passengers < 100,000 cm3
Car passengers ~ 40,000 cm3
Cyclists/Walkers ~ 8,000 cm3
It’s thought that, since cyclists ride at the edge of the road, they aren’t directly in the line of exhaust smoke as are vehicle passengers.
Other environmental benefits:
– 20 bicycles can be parked in the same space as one car.
– It takes around 5% of the materials and energy to build a bike than a car
– A bike produces zero air pollution.
– You travel around three times faster than walking.
– You get the equivalent of 2,924 miles to the gallon when biking.

Check out all the cycling benefits, here