Family: Transport
City bicycle
A bicycle for everyday city trips: upright riding position, mudguards, rack.
Overview
Two large independent cohorts cover the bicycle as a way of getting to work. In the first, of 263,450 participants, cycle commuting is associated with lower all-cause mortality compared with non-active commuting, which includes both the car and public transport: a hazard ratio of 0.59. The second links three census years in England and Wales to mortality and cancer registrations and follows up for as long as twenty-five years. One feature usually left out of safety discussions has been measured separately: the risk a mode of travel poses to OTHER road users per kilometre. Of six modes compared, the bicycle poses the lowest.
Quality indicators
- State of the evidence
Observational cohorts; injury risk to the rider is not measured here
More detail
Both works are observational: they show association, not causation, and the mode of travel was reported by the participant. The platform states the limit plainly: the sources cited measure mortality and morbidity, and the risk posed to other road users — but NOT the injury risk to the cyclist themselves per kilometre. No suitable source for that was found, and the platform will not substitute a study from another country.
Qualitative characteristics
- Risk posed to other road users
The lowest of six modes compared, per vehicle-kilometre
More detail
An analysis of English road fatality data counts the risk not to the traveller but to other road users, per vehicle-kilometre. Of six modes, the bicycle poses the lowest.
Health-related indicators
- What long-term cohorts show
Lower all-cause mortality: a hazard ratio of 0.59
More detail
In a cohort of 263,450 participants, cycle commuting is associated with lower all-cause mortality (0.59, interval 0.42-0.83), lower cancer incidence (0.55) and lower cancer mortality (0.60) compared with non-active commuting. A second cohort, built on census data with up to 25 years of follow-up, studies the same modes independently of the first.
What is nearby
Common comparisons
Related categories
Sources and evidence
Sources by kind of evidence
STUDYPeer-reviewed3
- [1]Association between active commuting and incident cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality: prospective cohort study
- [2]How does mode of travel affect risks posed to other road users? An analysis of English road fatality data, incorporating gender and road type
- [3]Associations between commute mode and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality, and cancer incidence, using linked Census data over 25 years in England and Wales: a cohort study
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