You know that bicycles are on the rise when one of the largest financial advisory consulting firms publishes a report about them, their users and the benefits to society. Deloitte recently released its annual technology, media, and telecommunications predictions and they claim there will be a one percentage point rise in the worldwide proportion of people who bike to work from 2019 to 2022. In terms of hard numbers, Deloitte estimates there will be tens of billions of additional bicycle rides per year around the world.
In the report, it states that cities have been designed for cars and that bicycles have been an afterthought, but the good news is that there is plenty of space to reallocate! At last, the corporate zeitgeist is pointing to the fact that cities need to be redesigned in order for us to take back the street from the automobile. The report additionally highlights how investment in bicycle infrastructure has massive financial and health benefits for society. This investment can boost the local economy around bicycle facilities because bicycle users spend more money than drivers. Health benefits from increased bicycle infrastructure can encourage more bicycling, which not only keeps citizens healthy but also can save the healthcare systems millions of dollars. As an example, Deloitte highlights the City of London, which has invested heavily in bicycle infrastructure and has seen an increase in bicycle usage by five percent – which translates to around four million kilometres travelled by bicycle each day!
The company’s report largely focuses on the commuting potential of e-bikes and how it can help close the commuting gap between the “too far to bike and too close to take public transportation”. E-bikes can offer a cheap alternative to the automobile and alleviate strain on public transportation systems. The average e-bikes are a lot cheaper than a car and offer an entry point to people who might be uneasy with the traditional bicycle. Now that large multinationals like Deloitte are talking about bicycles and e-bikes as an asset to society and business, will we start seeing them investing in bicycle infrastructure or bicycle technology? Investing in their own e-bike corporate fleets, or even incentivizing e-bikes for their employees by offering a subsidy, as the City of Paris has done since 2017 – offering €400 off the purchase of an e-bike. As an enormous property manager of commercial assets, will they take their own report to heart and start replacing automobile parking for bicycle parking and ensure that their employees and tenants have a safe and comfortable All Ages and Abilities bicycle network? Let’s hope that this report is a sign of the times and can be the push that companies need in order to lobby national and local governments to do better for their citizens.
