Many of us who ride know the inherent positive health, economic and environmental benefits of biking.

But it is always reassuring to have the hard facts to back it  up at the next dinner party you go to…so here is some ripper data from the EU  you can wave under the noses of any annoying your non-riders who pooh-pooh cycling’s economic contributions to society.

Estimating the Cycling Economy in Europe

A report entitled The Cycling Economy in Europe was produced in 2013  by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF).

The ECF is a preeminent cycling advocacy group, whose work centres around progressing cycling via a range of themes including economic, policy, tourism, health and environment, technology and safety and infrastructure to name a few.

This report is interesting because from what it looks like, it was the first European attempt (definitely ECF’s first calculation) to monetise the internal and external benefits that come cycling in the EU-27 (EU 2007-2013 when it had 27 member states).

Download the report here: ECF Economic Benefits of cycling in EU-27.pdf

This report was based on:

• Health benefits of cycling
• Congestion-easing due to cycle use
• Fuel savings due to cycle use
• Reduced CO2 emissions due to cycle use
• Reduced air pollution due to cycle use
• Reduced noise pollution due to cycle use.

The ECF calculates the annual economic benefit of cycling in the EU-27 to be at least € 205 bn.

Report Highlights

Here are a few highlights from the report as outlined in a presentation by Chloe Mispelon (ECF):

• Current economic benefits of cycling are huge (over 500 billion € for the EU 28, more than 1000€ per inhabitant each year)
• The economic potential is important as cycling modal share today is way below its mid XXth century levels in most EU countries.
• Cycling economic benefits are spread over a wide range of fields making the case for cross-sectoral strategies on cycling at local, national or EU level
• Lack of data prevents research to explore many other cycling related economic benefits

This report is ECF’s second calculation of the internal and external benefits of cycling linked to the current level of cycling in the EU-28. It is an extended and updated version of the first report published in 2013. The calculations have been updated with the latest available figures; in some cases, the methodologies for calculating the benefits have been refined taking into account the feedback received; and more benefits have been added in a systematic way.

So what are the estimates?

Summing up the calculated and estimated benefits of cycling in all these sectors, ECF arrives at the following aggregate figures:

The present report clearly shows that the benefits of cycling occur not only in specific, isolated fields like transport or environmental policy, but in many other areas where the EU has competences as well, like industrial policy, employment, health and social policy.

An integrated EU cycling strategy that includes these fields and considers cycling in all relevant policy areas will therefore enable the whole EU to reap these benefits in the future, including the countries which currently have low rates of cycling.

In some areas, ECF identified benefits of cycling but were not able to give any calculation or estimation yet.

More qualitative and quantitative research is needed in those fields to quantify these benefit.

The aim of this report is therefore also to encourage further research on the subject in order to draw a more precise picture of the economic benefits of cycling in the future.

All images and data in this post come from ECF or the ECF”s Economic Benefits of Cycling in EU-27 Report.