Today the Ontario government announced that it will eliminate provincial taxes on bicycle helmets and bicycles under $1000. This could save a maximum of $80 off your next bike purchase, not bad. The goal is to encourage people to get outdoors and also to ease traffic congestion.
On that note, this weeks FF is dedicated to riding your bike rather than hopping in the car for trips around town. Besides saving a heck of a lot of emissions, bicycling has a ton of benefits. Quite obviously, it is great for your body, and with an increasing weight problem, this is something North America could use more of. It’s not only about weight though, biking gets the blood flowing, refreshes the mind, saves fuel expenses, makes parking much easier and travel time more predictable, benefits your health overall, reduces stress, and increases daily productivity. Quite frankly, this sort of exercise every day could eliminate many of our daily health problems such as headaches, sleep problems, stress, aches and pains, and exhaustion.
On the side of the environment, by riding a bicycle only four miles per day, you could keep about 15 pounds of pollutants out of the air we breathe. The oil, gas, brake and other fluids used in your car (sources of soil and water pollution) would also be saved.
Think you’re more at risk of an accident while riding your bicycle? Well, according to this chart, more deaths occur while driving in a car than riding a bike (and this is per million hours of activity, so this isn’t just because more people drive cars than ride bikes). Also, 40% of car trips made in the United States are within two miles of the home, there is simply no reason why one couldn’t reduce their car usage by riding a bike–and if you’re in the city, it is often faster and cheaper to ride your bike than take the car. I know that if I rode my bike to school I could pull right up to the doors of the school building but when I take the car I have to park off campus and then wait for a bus to take me to class.
It is obvious that biking has many benefits for both the environment and your body. It is the most efficient form of travel in terms of energy consumption and developments in urban bicycles have skyrocketed so that there is something out there for everyone. They even have electric bikes now that help you accelerate and get up hills. So, what are you waiting for? Dust off that bike and hit the road!
[See more benefits of bike riding and the source of my information here]
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8 Comments
I think that is good to hear considering that consumers will surely benefit on this one.
Oh what a great news. I just think that we could surely saved from this things and we will not bothered anymore of high tax in our bicycle.
The government really should make it as easy as possible for people to bike instead of drive. With the huge benefits already on the side of biking, it seems silly not to. Of course, the only problem I could see would be showing up to work a little sweaty… which over time could ruin expensive suits, etc.
heh. Nice. Keep up the good blogging.
I agree that biking should be more promoted. Some workplaces do offer showers for their employees, but probably not enough. I know a guy at the place I worked in the summer used to do this.
Now that’s a good strategy,, I hope the local government here does the same..
I think the using bicycle could not only save us from using excessive engine fuel but it helps improves our people’s health at the same time air pollution in our environment will surely be lessen.It’s so good to hear that Canadian government have done this initiative.
I think it would be accessible for us to use bicycle. It might be the answer to problems in oil crisis right now. It will also help control pollution at the same time accident would also be lessen.
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