In spite of their colder climate, Canadians cycle about three times more than Americans. The main reasons for this difference are Canada's higher urban densities and mixed-use development, shorter trip distances, lower incomes, higher costs of owning, driving and parking a car, safer cycling conditions, and more extensive cycling infrastructure and training programs. Most of these factors result from differences between Canada and the United States in their transport and land-use policies, and not from intrinsic differences in history, culture or resource availability. That is good news, since it suggests the possibility of significantly increasing cycling levels in the United States by adopting some of the Canadian policies that have so effectively promoted cycling and enhanced its safety. One might assume that the much colder climate in Canada would deter cycling and thus lead to a lower bike share of urban travel in Canada than in the United States. As documented in this article, the reverse is true. In fact, cycling levels are considerably higher in Canadian cities.

Clearly, there must be other factors at work in Canada that offset the disadvantages of climate. It seems likely that differences in transport and land use policies play an important role in explaining the higher share of bike trips in Canada. To some extent, they may be the same policy differences that explain higher levels of transit use and walking in Canada. Several studies have found that higher densities and mixed-use development in Canadian cities promote greater transit use there, while the lower densities and single-use zoning in most American cities encourage car use. Higher densities and mixed land uses probably encourage bike use as well, since trips tend to be shorter in compact, mixed-use environments. The much lower levels of car ownership in Canada might also encourage cycling - just as they encourage transit use. Moreover, car parking in Canada tends to be less available and more expensive than in the United States. Finally, the greater availability of transit services in Canada may complement bike use by serving those trips too long to cycle, thus facilitating a less car-dependent lifestyle.

In addition, however, both countries have government policies and programs directly targeted at bicycling. Most Canadian cities appear to have more extensive cycling networks, bike parking, and cycling education and training than most American cities. Cycling safety and promotion campaigns also differ. Clearly, such differences in bicycling policies are obvious candidates for explaining cycling levels.

This article examines a range of possible causes of the higher incidence of cycling in Canada compared to the United States. While previous studies have analyzed differences in land use, car dependence, and transit use in Canada and the United States (e.g. Transportation Research Board, 2001), none has dealt specifically with cycling. Especially given the stated goal of U.S. Department of Transportation (2004a) to double the bike share of urban travel in American cities, it makes sense to examine how Canadian cities have achieved their higher levels of cycling. No other country is as close to the United States in culture, lifestyle, democratic traditions, standard of living, historical development, and resource availability. Those similarities increase the likelihood that successful policies in Canada would be adaptable for use in American cities as well.

External Links:

More Information: www.vtpi.org/pucher_canbike.pdf

Further Reading:

Why Canadians Cycle More than American: A comparative analysis of bicycling trends and policies