The bike-sharing world was all abuzz in August with the cite in The Bike-sharing Blog about the study in The British Medical Journal that used data from Bicing in Barcelona to conclude that "bike-sharing saves lives." This study was funded by the Coca-Cola Foundation which has as one of its missions: "to support access to exercise, physical activity and nutritional education programs, programs that motivate behavior modification, and programs that encourage lifestyle/behavioral changes." The Foundation continues to fund TAPAS (Transportation, Air Pollution and Physical Activities) which will oversee similar studies on the health benefits of bike-sharing in Paris, Copenhagen, Basel, Warsaw and Prague. It is very worthwhile that these benefits are substantiated with scholarly studies.
It is ironic though, that these studies are funded by a company which makes the high sugar content soft drinks that are a major cause of the obesity and type II diabetes from which many populations in the world are suffering. Eradication of these conditions is often cited as one of the goals of the operators of bike sharing systems.
We at The Bike-sharing Blog will update you with the findings of these new studies as they are available. Oh, yes share a Coke with a friend!
image: World of Coca-Cola
Russell Meddin bikesharephiladelphia.org
Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteFirst, to have studies on healthy impacts of bike sharing.
Second, that a company pays for this study in order to clear it's name.
Do you think Coca-Cola will provide discount toward cyclists rather than car-drivers? Does the brand image can impact travel behaviour? Let's see.
Benoit Beroud
Consultant in sustainable mobility
Mobiped - www.mobiped.com