How much carbon can you save by cycling to work?

The European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) calculated and compared the carbon dioxide emissions of cycling, driving a car or taking the bus, taking into account manufacturing, fuelling and number of passengers.

The research shows that the car remains Europeans’ preferred mode of transport. It’s also the least environmentally friendly: driving a car emits about 271g CO2 per passenger-kilometre. Taking the bus cuts those emissions by more than half, pumping 101 g of CO2 per passenger-kilometre into the air. This is largely because buses hold a lot more passengers.

But if you really want to cut those emissions, you should invest in a bike. Riding a conventional bike accounts for just 21g of CO2 emissions per kilometre. This compares to 56g for walking and just 14.8g for e-cycles. How can that be the case, though? Fuel. But conventional bikes don’t require fuel, unlike e-cycles, I hear you cry. But cyclists do, as do walkers.

According to the ECF research, the production of a bicycle sets you back only 5g of carbon per kilometre travelled. The rest comes from the food the cyclist needs to eat to power their ride. The power assist on an e-bike means the rider doesn’t need to eat as much so saves more carbon. Walkers, on the other hand, require more food to travel the same distance as a cyclist.

These figures are all based on the average European diet, which still includes quite a lot of meat. So a vegetarian or vegan diet would reduce your carbon footprint even more.

Swapping just one trip per day from driving to cycling for 200 days of the year would save half a tonne of carbon dioxide over the course of a year

text

This research didn’t look at trains, but a UK government report says that on average, UK trains account for 41g of C02 per passenger-kilometre.

Carbon savings

What does this mean for you and your commute? Researchers led by Dr Christian Brand, an associate professor in transport, energy and environment at the University of Oxford, observed 4,000 people living in London, Antwerp, Barcelona, Vienna, Orebro, Rome and Zurich over a two-year period.

Participants recorded what trips they made every day, including why they were travelling, how far and what mode they used. The researchers calculated the carbon footprint for every trip made.

They found that swapping just one trip per day from driving to cycling for 200 days of the year would save half a tonne of carbon dioxide over the course of a year. This means that if you were to swap your drive to work for cycling you would drastically reduce your carbon footprint.

If you’re anything like me, though, ‘half a tonne of carbon’ means very little in practical terms. Dr Brand explained this is equivalent to a one-way flight from London to New York. Put like that it sounds impressive.

If you want to track your own carbon savings, Strava has a neat little feature allowing you to tag your commutes. This will then display how much CO2 you’ve saved cycling to work compared to driving. You’ll need a Strava account (it’s free to sign up) and a compatible activity tracker. On my last ride to work I saved 2.91 kg CO2.

Small journeys, big differences

Researchers found that shifting just one trip from car to cycle per day saves the average person 3.2kg of carbon. According to Dr Brand this is “equivalent to the emissions from driving a car for 10km, eating a serving of lamb or chocolate, or sending 800 emails”. I don’t know about you, but I quite like the idea of carbon offsetting my chocolate habit …

This shows that small changes can add up – especially if we act collectively. As Dr Brand said: “If just one in five urban residents permanently changed their travel behaviour in this way over the next few years, we estimate it would cut emissions from all car travel in Europe by about 8%.”

Not everyone can cycle all the way to work, but again, every little counts. Remember how much carbon is saved by taking a bus or train rather than driving? Combining cycling with modes of public transport will also significantly reduce your carbon footprint. These figures are based on 40% capacity, too, so the more people using each train or bus, the lower those carbon emissions per passenger-kilometre will be.

E-cycles can also help extend the distance you can commute, taking some of the effort out of the kilometres and any hills. As we’ve already seen, e-cycles are even lower carbon than non-assisted cycles.

Carbon-friendly employers

If you’re an employer looking to make your workplace more environmentally friendly, supporting staff to cycle to work is a big step forward. A much smaller carbon footprint isn’t the only benefit. There’s plenty of research showing that employees who cycle to work are happier, healthier and more productive. It reduces absenteeism and also improves people’s sense of wellbeing.

Cycling UK has all the advice, resources and expertise you need to make your workplace supportive of cycling. Our Cycle Friendly Employer accreditation is the international benchmark for active travel culture and infrastructure in the workplace. You can find out more about how it works in our comprehensive guide.

If you’re an employee who’s trying to get your employer interested in helping you and your colleagues to cycle to work, this is a great place to start.

Remember that this is all cumulative – the more of those short journeys you cycle the more carbon you save. This applies to all those who don’t work, too. Cycling to the shops, a local café, a friend’s house – any short journey you’d usually drive – will all reduce your carbon footprint, making us all that bit kinder to the environment.