Washington D.C. – Yesterday, Reps. Madeleine Dean (PA-04) and Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) introduced H.Res. 385, a Congressional resolution celebrating Bike to Work Day (May 17, 2019).
As a member of the Pennsylvania State Assembly, Rep. Dean introduced this resolution every year, and is now taking her work to Congress. Rep. Blumenauer, a longtime cycling advocate, is the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Bike Caucus, of which Rep. Dean is an active member.
“Bicycling to work helps us address many challenges at once. It reduces congestion, improves air quality, and conserves energy. It also cuts commuting, parking, and health care costs. And of course, it’s a fun and healthy way of integrating exercise into our daily routine,” said Rep. Dean.
“I have biked to work my entire professional career. Coming from Portland, a world class cycling city, I’ve seen first-hand that cycling strengthens our communities by making Americans healthier, improving air quality and adding to quality of life,” said Rep. Blumenauer. “We must encourage transportation choices that are better for the environment, cheaper for families and incentivize burning calories, not carbon.”
Communities across the country have realized the benefits of cycling and have substantially invested in building better bike networks. These investments are one of the reasons that rates of biking to work have nearly doubled since 2000 while driving and public transportation rates have increased by 16 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
Nationwide data suggests that for commutes under three miles, bicycling is typically faster than driving – and that in urban areas, bicycling is at least as fast as driving for commutes between five and seven miles. More than half of U.S. employees live within five miles of their workplace.
Bike to Work Day offers an opportunity for employees to try out a bike-based commute, and studies show that 1 in 5 people who participate will begin cycling to work on a regular basis.
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