Last year during my extended stay just outside Munich, Germany, I came across the following:
It may be difficult to see the scale in the picture, but it's an enclosed mini-road system where children learn the safety standards for cycling. The schools in this town of Vaterstetten require that students pass a test, ensuring that the streets stay consistent with safety and sharing the road. The test is given in primary school, more than a full decade before Germans are able to obtain a driving license. Getting a license in Germany as well as Denmark is expensive and time-consuming. My cousin Lara in Munich and host-sisters Jose/Emma in Copenhagen likely paid upwards of $2,000 USD and spent more than 50 hours for theory and professional instruction for a license. And more than often a license does not come with a car; this is also incredibly expensive in these countries. I will grab some numbers from copenhagenize.com:
In Denmark a basic compact car will cost you about 100,000 DKK. ($17,400). A new Honda, depending on model, will cost between 200,000 DKK ($34,700 USD) and 500,000 DKK ($86,900). A new BMW, again depending on model, will set you back between 400,000 DKK ($69,500 USD) and 2.5 million DKK ($434,360 USD).
And finally, fuel prices. The price per gallon of gasoline is nearly triple in Germany and Denmark, compared with the US. Currently the US average is $2.32 per gallon; $6.07/gallon in Germany; $6.34/gallon in Denmark.
I will end on this statistic (found once again on copenhagenize.com):
Bicycle: 63 cents net profit for society. (3.65 DKK)Car: $1.15 net loss to society. (6.59 DKK)
And keep in mind, this is in Denmark, without the massive subsidies for autos and fuel.
WOW. Maybe we should be building mini-roads to train and test our children for cycling in this country, and better bicycle infrastructure to go along with it! Cycling is beneficial in sooo many ways...
