Matters of Scale - Bicycle Frame
Bicycle Frame
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Bicycles per 1,000 people in the United States (mid-1990s)
|
385
|
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In Germany
|
588
|
|
|
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In the Netherlands
|
1,000
|
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Percent of urban travel accounted for by cycling in the United States (1995)
|
1
|
|
|
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Percent in Germany
|
12
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Percent in the Netherlands
|
28
|
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Percent of adults that are obese in the United States (2003)
|
30.6
|
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Percent in Germany
|
12.9
|
|
|
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Percent in the Netherlands
|
10.0
|
|
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Total spending on health as percent of GDP in the United States (2002)
|
14.6
|
|
|
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Percent in Germany
|
10.9
|
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Percent in the Netherlands
|
8.8
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Persons per hour that one meter-width-equivalent right-of-way can carry, by mode:
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|
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Auto in mixed traffic
|
170
|
|
Bicycle
|
1,500
|
|
|
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Bus in mixed traffic
|
2,700
|
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Pedestrian
|
3,600
|
|
|
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Suburban railway
|
4,000
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Energy used per passenger-mile (calories):
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|
|
|
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Auto
|
1,860
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Bus
|
920
|
|
|
|
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Rail
|
885
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Foot
|
100
|
|
|
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Bicycle
|
35
|
|
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Sources: Bicycle ownership: Cycle Press (via www.bicycleretailer.com). Urban travel by bike: U.S. Transportation Research Board. Obesity rates: OECD Health Data 2005. Health spending: World Health Organisation, World Health Report 2005. Modal carrying capacity: United Nations, Transportation Strategies for Human Settlements in Developing Countries. Energy per passenger-mile: Marcia Lowe, The Bicycle: Vehicle for a Small Planet (Worldwatch Institute, 1989).