The Economic Benefits of a Bicycle

The Economic Benefits of a
Bicycle-friendly City
Evidence from North America
INTERNATIONAL CYCLING CONGRESS
MOSCOW
APRIL 21-22, 2016
JENNIFER DILL, PH.D.
PROFESSOR, URBAN STUDIES AND PLANNING
DIRECTOR, TREC
PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
@JENNIFERDILLPSU
Possible economic effects of bicycling
 Property values
 Health care costs
 Physical activity
 Driving
 Accessibility
 Retail sales
 Tourism
 Happiness
 In-migration
 Transport
expenditures
Property Values
Summary of key findings (source)
Some, but not all, greenways (pedestrian & bike trails with
park features) in Indianapolis has a positive, significant
effect on property values (Lindsey, G. et al, 2004)
Direction of effect

Trails and trails with greenbelts associated with 2% and
5% price premium for houses in San Antonio (Asabere,
P.K., et al, 2009)

Greenways in Austin had positive or no signigifant
impacts on house prices (Nicholls & Crompton 2005)

Roadside bike trails in Minneapolis reduced home values
(Krizek, 2006)

Retail sales: Portland, Oregon
Surveys of customers at 78
businesses found that
people who bike to bars,
restaurants, and
convenience stores spend
similar amounts or more
per month than people who
drive (but not for grocery
stores).
Clifton, K. et al, Examining Consumer
Behavior and Travel Choices, Final
Report, OTREC-RR-12-15, 2013.
$120,00
$100,00
$80,00
$60,00
$40,00
$20,00
$$ per trip
$ per month
Bar
$ per trip
$ per month
Convenience store
Auto
Bike
Transit
Walk
$500,00
$450,00
$400,00
$350,00
$ per trip
$ per month
$300,00
Restaurant
$250,00
$200,00
$150,00
$100,00
$50,00
$$ per
trip
$ per
month
Bar
$ per
trip
$ per
month
Convenience
store
Auto
Bike
$ per
trip
$ per
month
Restaurant
Transit
Walk
$ per
trip
$ per
month
Groceries
Bike Corrals: Portland, Oregon
 >100 on-street bike parking “corrals” that replace 1-2 car parking spaces
 Survey of nearby businesses (Meisel 2010)
Evidence from New York City
 Case studies of street improvements
 Examined changes in sales revenue at restaurants and
stores near projects and at comparison locations
Complete Street Project: Vanderbilt Avenue
Complete Street Project: Columbus Avenue
Complete Street Project: Ninth Avenue
Tourism
 132-mile Great Allegheny Passage trail connects Maryland to Pennsylvania, attracting bicycle tourists from all over.

Business owners along the route claim that about one-third of their revenue is from trail users

Visitors spend an average of $98 a day (Campos, Inc, 2009)
 Quebec, Canada: 2,700 mile network of paths and roadway routes: La Route Verte

Bicycle tourists in Quebec spent 6% more than other types of tourists, about $214 per day
 7-day Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, over 8,000 riders

~$17 million in direct spending
 >1,700 recreational road riding events in the U.S.

$240 million in revenues; $140 million spend on food, lodging, other purchases
Portland, Oregon
Harbor Drive
PORTLAND, OREGON
Health
 Estimate for Portland, Oregon (Gotschi, T, 2011)
 One tool used: World Health Organization’s Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT), adjusted for the U.S.
Transport Expenditures:
Portland region
 People drive an average of 4 miles less per day

Some of that due to bicycling, but not all
 Estimates for
New York City: $19 billion/year
Chicago: $2.3 billion/year
Joe Cortright, Portland’s Green Dividend, 2007
Summary
 Bicycle infrastructure often leads to economic benefits

Sometimes neutral, rarely negative

Benefits may be greatest when part of more comprehensive changes (“complete street,” trail + greenway)

Some benefits, e.g. in-migration and urban tourism are not well documented
 Not included here: the bicycle industry, including bike manufacturers, shops, etc.
Contact Information
 Jennifer Dill, Ph.D. web.pdx.edu/~jdill
@JenniferDillPSU jdill@pdx.edu
 TREC, the Transportation Research & Education Center at PSU: trec.pdx.edu