Bicycle commuting is the use of a bicycle to travel from home to a place of work or study — in contrast to the use of a bicycle for sport, recreation or touring.
Commuting especially lends itself to areas with relatively flat terrain and arrangements to keep riders relatively safe from the hazards of accidents with motorized traffic, e.g. separated bicycle lanes and a general acceptance of cyclists as traffic participants.
A Bike bus is form of collective bicycle commuting where participants cycle together on a set route following a set timetable. Cyclists may join or leave the bike bus at various points along the route.
Bicycles are used for commuting worldwide, though in isolated pockets in the United States.[1] Mixed-mode commuting combines the use of a bicycle with public transportation for commuting.
As a rather cheap means of transportation as well as physical exercise at the same time, bicycle commuting offers potential health, economic and quality of life benefits — offsetting potential risks and inconveniences including limitations to travel distance, security risks, increased travel time, safety risks, impact to personal hygiene, exposure to inclement weather and load carrying limitations.
Bicycle features that enhance commuting include racks or panniers for storage, battery or dynamo-powered lights for increased visibility, mudguards or fenders to minimize the impact of inclement weather, a chain guard to protect clothing, and an upright sitting position for increased visibility. 2008 saw the rise of bikes in the U.S with similar features and called commuter bikes and geared directly at riders looking to use bicycles for daily work and study travel.[2]
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February 2005 - Bike Commuter Act - introduced by Congressman Mark Foley (Republican-Fla) and Congressman Earl Blumenauer (Democrat-Ore).
March 2007 - Bicycle Commuters Benefits Act (H.R.807, S.2635), introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat-OR), and currently co-sponsored by Senators Olympia Snowe (Republican-ME), Maria Cantwell (Democrat-WA), Susan Collins (Republican-ME), Richard Durbin (Democrat-Ill), Robert Menendez (Democrat-NJ), Daniel Inouye (Democrat-HI), Norm Coleman (Republican-MN), and Mike Enzi (Republican-WY).
The United States decennial Census collects information from respondents about Means of Transportation to Work. Bicycle has been an option since the 1980 Census. The Census does not collect information about transportation means to school.
In the Netherlands, commuting by bicycle is a very common phenomenon, as well as the combined use of the bicycle with means of public transportation, for practical but also ecological reasons. In their programs for the parliamentary elections, almost all Dutch political parties add paragraphs in which they vow to enhance facilities for bicycle commuting.[3] The political party GroenLinks even promotes a principle called "Groen Reizen" (green travelling), in which the choice to use bicycles and public transportation plays a key role.[4]
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