Tim Kelley
04-06-2010, 01:51 PM
A Canadian study I came across did some calculations and came up the following on biking and walking costs in USD:
"A good bicycle with accessories typically costs $500-1,000, or $50-100 annually over a ten-year operating life, plus $50-200 annually for maintenance if ridden 2,000 annual miles, averaging 5-15¢ per mile. Many households own bicycles for recreational purposes so the incremental costs for using them for utilitarian trips is small. Shoes typically last 500-5,000 miles of walked. Walking and cycling burn calories that may increase food requirements, although most North Americans benefit from losing weight, so increased energy consumption is often considered a benefit rather than a cost (i.e., a weight loss strategy or an opportunity to eat more enjoyable foods). If utilitarian bicycling or walking substitutes for other exercise activities they can be considered to have negative costs (i.e., if bicycling or walking reduce the need to pay health club dues or medical costs associated with sedentary living they provide benefits and save money)."
Page 10, here (http://www.vtpi.org/tca/tca0501.pdf).
"A good bicycle with accessories typically costs $500-1,000, or $50-100 annually over a ten-year operating life, plus $50-200 annually for maintenance if ridden 2,000 annual miles, averaging 5-15¢ per mile. Many households own bicycles for recreational purposes so the incremental costs for using them for utilitarian trips is small. Shoes typically last 500-5,000 miles of walked. Walking and cycling burn calories that may increase food requirements, although most North Americans benefit from losing weight, so increased energy consumption is often considered a benefit rather than a cost (i.e., a weight loss strategy or an opportunity to eat more enjoyable foods). If utilitarian bicycling or walking substitutes for other exercise activities they can be considered to have negative costs (i.e., if bicycling or walking reduce the need to pay health club dues or medical costs associated with sedentary living they provide benefits and save money)."
Page 10, here (http://www.vtpi.org/tca/tca0501.pdf).