Skip to main content
Home
Open Streets Cape Town
  • About Us
    • Organisation
    • Manifesto
    • People
    • Partners
  • What We Do
    • Calendar
    • Open Streets Days
    • Low-Carbon Transport
    • Talking Streets
    • Street Minds
  • Join the Movement
    • Volunteer
    • Intern
    • Donate
  • News
    • Advocacy & Campaigns
    • Open Streets Days
    • Low-Carbon Transport
    • Talking Streets
    • General
  • Media
    • Open Streets in the News
    • Media Releases
  • Resources
    • Streets & Covid-19
    • General
    • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twiiter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

The benefits of utility cycling

Posted on: Monday 23 October 2017
Bicycles, not unlike our streets, can be more than they are.
Photo by Rory Williams

Bicycles can get us from point A to point B and their potential is certainly not maximised in cities like Cape Town. “Utility cycling” refers precisely to that: using a bicycle as a means of transport rather than for sport or leisure. The advantages, as we many of you already know, abound.

Health

Cycling is an easy and cheap way to get active. You don’t need a gym membership and you can use the commuting time you would have spent driving or on public transport to exercise too!

Quality of life and community

Cars cause division in the urban fabric. Cities that operate at the scale of people – where cycling and walking are the preferred ways of getting around – are more vibrant and connected. Think about it: when you drive, you tend to go shopping outside your own neighbourhood, which means you never get to know your neighbours. Instead of stopping and chatting, you spend the majority of your time looking for parking and stuck in traffic. Cycling is quick, easy and better for your social life.

Environment

Cars emit carbon dioxide and other global warming gases. Bicycles do not. The only energy they require to move comes from your legs. Ultimately, if more people cycled, climate change would be further away. We’d also have better traffic flow and our roads would be quieter and safer.

Furthermore, cycling is easy on your pocket and keeps your travel times predictable.

Making the change

As we say in our policy brief Stuck in my car: how to drive less and not die trying, a first step would be to just be mindful of opportunities that would remove even one car trip per week. Some ideas:

  • If you have one, get your old bike serviced and ready to go again.
  • Cycle to a shop near your home or a meeting near your office, and compare the time it took to driving for the same trip.
  • Consider cycling in a group / ‘bike bus’.
  • Support groups lobbying for cycle lanes and other forms of cycling infrastructure.

Learn more about the benefits of cycling at Bikes Welcome.

 


This content was made possible through the support of the WWF Nedbank Green Trust.

Photo by Rory Williams

Tags:

General
Bicycle
Cycling
Utility cycling
Cape Town
Bicycle Cape Town
Bicycle South
Commuter cycling
AtoB Challenge
Low-Carbon Transport

Related campaign

Low Carbon Transport

Low-Carbon Transport

Creating a new mindset about movement in collaboration with the WWF Nedbank Green Trust
Read more...
Green Trust

Recent

TUMI Urban Mobility Conference

TUMI 2021 Urban Mobility Conference: Shaping the Future

Tuesday, May 25, 2021 - 12:00

INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP: Hosted by Open Streets Cape Town

Learn more...

Twitter Feed

Tweets by OpenStreetsCT

Newsletter

Newsletter

Stay informed

Sign up to receive the latest news, event info and campaign details from Open Streets Cape Town.

Sign up

Donate

Donate

Support us

Want regular Open Streets Days in Cape Town?

Donate to the movement now via PayFast.

Contact

Say hello
Email us: info@openstreets.co.za

Connect

Follow us

Facebook YouTube Instagram

© Open Streets Cape Town

Website proudly built by


Kindly hosted by

amazee io