Of the 7.3 billion people living on the planet, one in every 12 owns a bike. Despite appearances, however, that number has not increased much in recent years.
Ari Phillips reports on a new study in the Journal of Transport & Health that finds "global bicycle ownership has significantly fallen in the past three decades."
"Published in the Journal of Transport & Health, researchers from Johns Hopkins University analyzed data from 1.25 billion households in what they consider to be the the [sic] first global study of bicycle ownership over time. They found that the number of bike owners, while increasing or holding steady in some countries, has plummeted in others," explains Phillips.
Phillips spoke with the lead author of the story, Olufolajimi Oke, who hopes that the finds of the study will help policymakers find ways to get more traction for cycling. In a surprising finding couched in the otherwise distressing news for biking advocates, the United States has actually led the recent resurgence in the popularity of bikes in the past five years. Still, the percentage of Americans riding a bike for their commute hasn't changed much in the past decade.
The article includes more geographic detail about the findings of the study as well as some speculation on what the data means for the societies driving the numbers.
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