Benefits Of Bicycle Sharing: For Riders And Their Cities

ride ideas

March 27, 2017

If you don’t currently own a bicycle, but enjoy a ride through the city, you might want to explore the benefits of a bicycle sharing program. With some of the best street bikes available, the concept of bicycle sharing is something that has increased in popularity across the globe. What many cities have found is that the benefits go far beyond the obvious physical fitness effects for riders, and have demonstrated major positive effects for those cities as well.

Accessibility

Getting around can be challenging with traffic, inconvenient public transportation, and the costs that come along with owning a vehicle. Bicycle sharing presents a great opportunity for cities to alleviate traffic pressures that affect the daily lives of citizens. Additionally, if a city has an imperfect public transportation system, implementing a bicycle sharing program is a cost efficient way to provide an alternative. Considering the high costs of owning a vehicle, when bicycles are made available to the public through a convenient sharing program, accessibility becomes something afforded by all.

Tourism

There is nothing more frustrating than visiting a new city and struggling to see the sites through an unfamiliar public transportation system. Tourism has seen benefits from bicycle sharing programs as visitors are able to more easily navigate through cities while enjoying the natural surroundings unique to each area. Some cities have perfected their bicycle sharing program so well that the concept itself has become a tourist attraction offering the best street bikes to adventurous visitors.

Environment

With less vehicles, there is less smog and pollution. Riders and cities can enjoy a cleaner, more sustainable living environment as bicycle sharing becomes a popular transportation alternative. Additionally, cities that have taken the time to develop routes and safe paths in conjunction with the programs are able to focus on improving the natural surroundings so cyclists can enjoy and appreciate nature.

Health

By far the biggest benefit for riders is found within the health benefits. Cycling is a great form of exercise and does much more for your body than sitting behind the wheel in traffic. Exercise leads to a reduction in obesity, heart disease and many other diseases caused by sedentary lifestyles. But what if we could correlate positive health benefits specifically to bicycle sharing? In 2014, a study published by the British Medical Journal evaluated the health benefits of users of London’s Bixi Program, and went as far as analyzing the outcomes segmented by sex and age. The predictions of the study indicate that although both men and women benefit from bicycle sharing, the benefits are higher for men and for older cyclists. Reducing the risk of disease in the population of older men was seen to be a major positive impact.

Still Want Your Own?

While it is clear that there are many benefits to bicycle sharing for riders and cities, we don’t blame you if you still want your own. Customizing fun city bicycles for you and your loved ones is what we live for at sixthreezero.