The true costs of our mobility choices
Health benefits
Discover the often-overlooked benefits of cycling, for your health and for society
Discover all 4 subjects of the thematic
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Biking Positive Externalities
Beyond all its physical benefits, biking has many positive impacts on public health and wellbeing. It diminishes air and noise pollution, and reduces road collisions. This contributes to make our streets safer and calmer.
Transportation and Pollution
Through direct emissions, but also tire, brake and road abrasion, vehicles produce fine particles of ozone and nitrate oxides, which are amongst the pollutants with the biggest impact on health. If cars are less and less polluting on an individual basis, the continuous increase of their number on our roads and the associated congestion will make the air of poorer quality in the future. Also, if electrification is good news in terms of direct emissions, electric vehicles are generally heavier and therefore produce more fine particles through abrasion, negating their positive effects.
Transportation is responsible of 46%of fine particles emissions in Quebec
On a trip of 11 km, 90%of the emissions are generated during the first 1.6 km.
Data sources:
- (Transportation Sector) Ville de Montréal. Service Environnement (2024). Qualité de l'air à Montréal. Bilan environnemental 2023
- (Short Trips) Daniel, K. and Perrotta, K. (2017) Prescribing Active Travel for Healthy People and a Healthy Planet : A Toolkit for Health Professionnals. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
Credits:
- (Transportation Sector) Ivan Bogdanov on Unsplash
- (Short Trips) Alex Presa on Unsplash
Biking, a solution to improve air quality
Considering the pollution associated to the transportation sector, biking rather than using a car for transportation, particularly for shorter distances, is an effective solution that is economically and healthily beneficial for society as a whole.
Improving Road Safety for Everyone!
To make our roads safer, developing active transportation is an excellent measure. As people use more biking or walking for their daily trips, the number of vehicles decreases on our roads, reducing the risks of severe or fatal collisions. Furthermore, with a critical mass of cyclists, drivers become more aware of the presence of bikes and are more careful sharing the road.
Moreover, the very presence of cycling infrastructure (especially where cyclists are separated from motor traffic) has the effect of slowing down motorized vehicles, thereby increasing safety for all road users.
Cost of Road Trauma in Canada
$36 billion
equivalent to 1.8% of GDP in 2021
Youth (5-24 y/o)
1st
cause of fatality (2017-2019)
Deaths on Quebec’s Road
380
deaths in 2023 (all modes)
Severe Injuries on Quebec’s Roads
1,270
severe injuries in 2023 (all modes)
Traffic Conflits
-44%
with a separated bike lane
Vehicle speed
-28%
following the installation of protected bike lanes
Sources:
- (Canada Costs) International Transport Forum (2023). Road Safety Country Profile. Canada 2023
- (Quebec Death/Injuries) Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (2023). Bilan routier. Faits saillants 2023
- (Death Youths) Institut national de santé publique au Québec (2022). Prévention des traumatismes non-intentionnels. Surveillance et statistiques
- (Conflicts) City of Toronto (2017). Report for Action. Bloor Street West Bike Lane Pilot Project Evaluation
- (Speed) Younes, H., Andrews, C. et al. (2024). The Traffic Calming Effect of Delineated Bicycle Lanes, Journal of Urban Mobility, Volume 5
