Cyclists Can Save You Money, If You Let Them
Reference: <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/if-you-build-it/Content?oid=11043200">http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/if-you-build-it/Content?oid=11043200</a>;B' Spokes: There appears to be some disagreement here on just how much motorist pay for the roads. So I'll note from my research there is a big difference what the proportion of motor vehicle taxes make up the state DOT budget and that of the localities. State DOT's build a lot of expensive roads where cyclists are prohibited (so it stands to reason motor vehicles pay the lion share of that) while localities using less vehicle taxes build roads for everyone to use. So it looks like the inference holds, we are paying more then our fair share.
A few highlights:
"And a 2013 study by Canadian researcher Todd Litman found big disparities in how motorists and non-motorists kick in for transportation projects. Litman estimated a cyclist who travels 3,000 miles a year likely overpays almost the same amount as a motorist who logs 10,000 miles a year might underpay."
"But some observers say parsing these revenue streams ignores a larger point: Bike facilities have the ability to save massive amounts of money."
"A Swiss researcher, Thomas Gotschi, who helpfully made Portland the subject of a 2011 study, drove that point home. He found investments of $138 million to $605 million in bike infrastructure could be leveraged to save:
• Between $388 million to $544 million in health care costs.
• $143 to $218 million in fuel
• $7 to $12 billion in human life (measured “value of statistical lives,” a common metric in transportation planning)"
<a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/if-you-build-it/Content?oid=11043200">http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/if-you-build-it/Content?oid=11043200</a>;
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