To Encourage Cycling, Time is of the Essence

A new tool for bike-share users in Washington, D.C. developed by Fierce Government editor Zach Rausnitz takes the comparative approach of Google Maps' direction service to point out how using a bicycle can save both time and money compared to other modes of transportation.

"Rausnitz has used historic data from actual Capital Bikeshare member trips to calculate the average time a ride takes between any two stations in the system (he threw out the crazy outliers in his calculations)," explains Emily Badger. 

"This comparison is so powerful – and this is the kind of data any bike-share system needs – for one big reason. It's not enough to make it possible for people to bike. What advocates really need to do is make clear the costs of not biking, in minutes saved or dollars not spent."