Copyright © 2002 Earth Policy Institute
Bicycle Production Breaks 100 Million
Over 100 million bicycles were manufactured in 2000, the most since the all-time high of 106 million in 1995. (See Figure.) This production level is double that of 25 years ago.
China manufactured a record 52 million bicycles in
2000—over half the world total. Nearly
two thirds of these were exported, with 17 million going to the United
States. The United States itself produced just over 1 million bikes, down
sharply from the 1995 output of nearly 9 million. With over 43 million
cyclists, the United States is the world's largest bicycle export market,
with imports meeting 97 percent of demand.
The European Union, led by Germany, produced some 12 million bicycles
in 2000. Italy closely trails German production of 3.2 million bicycles,
although cycle sales in Germany reached 5.3 million in 2000, compared
with 1.6 million units in Italy.
India produced more than 11 million bicycles. Most of these are ridden
domestically or shipped to Africa. Africa is a potentially large bicycle
market, but recently sales have declined in many countries despite the
continued need for low-cost, non-motorized transportation. One reason
for this trend is a shortage of moderately priced, modern bikes and bike
parts.
This shortage is seen in Senegal, which levies prohibitive tariffs on
imported cycles to protect a small domestic manufacturer that sells only
2,000 bikes annually. Until 1989, Ghana imposed similar tariffs and taxes
on imports, but after their removal, bike sales soared.
To meet Africa's high demand for modern and sturdy bicycles, the Institute
for Transportation and Development Policy, an organization that promotes
environmentally sustainable and equitable transportation policies worldwide,
and Afribike, a nonprofit South African company, designed the Africa Bike.
This is an alternative to the traditional Black Roadster, which now sells
poorly because it does not meet performance standards and because many
associate it with rural, elderly, and poor people. Both models retail
at about $60. Afribike alone has provided over 10,000 South Africans with
low-cost transportation since 1998 and plans to expand its programs to
Senegal, Guinea, and Ghana.
Bicycle ownership greatly enhances personal mobility, contributing to
substantial increases in income. Giving women in rural areas credit to
buy bicycles allows for increased access to education and facilitates
the transport of produce to market. Thus rising bicycle sales have been
correlated with higher farm output. In Ghana, bikes have helped HIV/AIDS
outreach workers reach 50 percent more beneficiaries.
In urban areas, bicycles can substitute for automobiles, reducing traffic
congestion and lowering air pollution and noise. Bicycles take up one
thirtieth the road space used by cars traveling at a moderate pace. Biking
also offers exercise at a time when more people are overweight or obese
than ever before, even in developing countries. For those who need help
traveling long distances or in hilly terrain, increasingly popular electric
bicycles that run on batteries often fit the bill. By 2003, bicycles powered
by fuel cells will hit the market.
A number of cities, particularly in industrial countries, are promoting
the bicycle as a sustainable form of transportation by developing cycleways
and offering incentives for using bicycles for commuting. In Copenhagen,
one third of the population commutes to work by bicycle. By 2005, Copenhagen's
innovative City Bike program will provide 3,000 bicycles for free use
within the city. The city's total cycle fleet is expected to grow, as
city planners intend to increase already high car parking fees by 3 percent
annually for 15 years, impose high fuel taxes and vehicle registration
costs, and concentrate future development around rail lines.
Stockholm, one of the world's wealthiest cities, has seen car use decline
in recent decades. There, urban development is concentrated around city
centers, allowing for greater public transportation efficiency. Rail and
buses are linked with pedestrian and bicycle-oriented routes. In all of
Sweden's urban areas, 1 out of every 10 trips is taken by bicycle, about
the same number by public transit, and almost 40 percent on foot. Just
36 percent of trips are taken by car, a low for Europe. In the Netherlands,
bicycles are used for 27 percent of all trips.
Yet with the world automobile fleet climbing to over 530 million, bicycles
are losing out to a growing collection of motorized vehicles in some parts
of the world. In Beijing 10 years ago, 60 percent of all trips were made
on bicycle. Now that incomes have risen, residents have begun to favor
the car, which is viewed as a symbol of progress, and bike trips have
fallen to 40 percent. In Shanghai, where many major streets have recently
been closed to bicycles during rush hour, the share of trips made by bike
has dropped to 20 percent. The Shanghai government reportedly has plans
to ban bicycles altogether from the city center by 2010.
In the United States and Canada, where development is much less concentrated,
84 and 74 percent of trips are made by car respectively. In both countries,
only about 10 percent of trips are pedestrian, and just 1 percent is by
bicycle. Many residents use bicycles for recreation, not for transit.
Cities at risk of being overrun by polluting, land-hungry automobiles
could benefit by ensuring that bicycles receive consideration in transportation
planning and urban development schemes. Tax incentives can encourage development
in areas close to mass transit, and trains and buses can be equipped to
carry bicycles. Making streets and pathways safer and accessible to cyclists
will encourage more people to pedal to work and to use bikes for recreation.
Annual world bicycle production has grown to more than double automobile
production since the mid-twentieth century, when the two nearly coincided.
The bicycle is an affordable, space-efficient, low-maintenance method
of personal transportation, and its usefulness promises future growth
in the industry.
Copyright © 2002 Earth Policy Institute
OTHER INFORMATION FROM THE EARTH POLICY INSTITUTE
World Turning to Bicycle for Mobility and Exercise
Paving the Planet: Cars and Crops Competing for Land
Lester R. Brown, Janet Larsen, and Bernie Fischlowitz-Roberts, The Earth Policy Reader (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2002).
Lester R. Brown, Chapter 2: "Signs of Stress: Climate and Water," in Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth (W.W. Norton & Company, 2001).
LINKS
Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
http://www.bicycleretailer.com
Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
http://www.itdp.org
League of American Bicyclists
http://www.bikeleague.org
National Center for Bicycling and Walking
http://www.bikewalk.org
Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center
http://www.bicyclinginfo.org
Surface Transportation Policy Project
http://www.transact.org
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
http://www.vtpi.org
Washington Area Bicyclist Association
http://www.waba.org