WASHINGTON, D.C., July 17, 2002: In the year 2000, world bicycle production reached 101 million, more than double the 41 million cars produced. This article, extolling the virtues of bicycles, states that sales are soaring because bikes provide affordable mobility for billions of people, increase physical fitness, alleviate traffic congestion, and do not pollute the air. The bicycle reduces the amount of land that needs to be paved, with six bicycles fitting into the road space typically used by one car. The automobile fleet expanded and people returning to cities has created worsening traffic congestion worldwide. The article states that in London today, the average speed a car can actually travel on a typical street is about the same as that of a horse-drawn carriage a century ago. Many countries in northern Europe have turned to the bicycle to ease traffic congestion and reduce air pollution. In Stockholm, for example, car use has declined in recent years. Railroads and buses are increasingly linked with pedestrian and bicycle routes. In Sweden’s urban areas, roughly 10 percent of all trips are taken by bicycle. In many cities in the U.S., bikes provide mobility that cars cannot match. More than four fifths of all urban police departments now have some of their force on bicycles.
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