We’ve long known that cyclists don't love airplanes (if you've ever tried air travel with a bike, you know what we mean), but it turns out, the CEO of Dublin-based airline Ryanair really, really doesn’t like cyclists—and not just ones who fly with the Irish airline.
Michael O’Leary attended the Creative Minds conference in Dublin Wednesday, where the Dublin City Council gave a speech focused on enhancing Dublin’s cycling infrastructure. When it came time for his own speech, O’Leary derailed into an anti-cycling rant:
"That's all we need in Dublin is more blooming bicycles,” O’Leary said, according to the Independent. "In a country where it rains about 250 days a year, the way forward for Dublin is, more bicycles. Let's just go back to walking all together. Soon we'll be living in caves designed by Dublin City Council. Traffic won't work, there's nowhere to park the cars and yet this is a smarter way forward. We should take the cyclists out and shoot them.”
Instead of committing genocide, Dublin is taking the more rational bent of addressing the concerns of its aggravated, growing bike commuter population. Dublin-area cyclists report horrible cycling conditions, according to the Irish Times, including poorly maintained roads and illogically designed bike lanes. The city announced earlier this year that it’s putting €23 million toward sustainable transport projects to help manage this, in addition to connecting and extending bike paths, bike lanes, and a building a bike route around Dublin Bay.
That’s a lot of money, but funding cycling infrastructure in Dublin isn’t just throwing money away—it’s been shown to work. Bike commuting in Dublin became much more popular the last time the city council started focusing on bike infrastructure and adding more lanes, between 2010 and 2011. One report from the council showed that within that decade, cycling in Dublin’s city center increased by 35.1 percent.
Regardless, O’Leary is flat-out wrong about a lot of things involving Dublin-area bike commuting. He might have to drive quite a bit to reach the city, but according to the Dublin City Council’s official cycling website, nearly 40 percent of people who work in Dublin live about three miles from the city center—a very manageable distance for a bike commuter. As for the rain: The Council notes that Dublin receives less rain annually than Amsterdam. Translated? “If they can do it, darnit, we can, too.”
We could keep pointing out why O’Leary is totally off the mark, but we’d rather show him a few ways bike infrastructure is awesome for cities.
Bike Lanes Are Economic Boosters
By making bike lanes and adding bike parking, a city can actually increase consumer traffic in shopping districts and help shopkeepers make money. In 2008, Magnolia Street in Fort Worth, Texas, added bike lanes (at the expense of some parking spots!) and after the road was redone, restaurant and shop revenues went up 179 percent.
Bikes Crush Obesity—Especially in Kids
In a world where obesity in general and childhood obesity in particular are becoming health problems of epidemic proportions, adding more activity to daily life might be part of the answer. Getting more kids on bikes—and riding safer and happier in protected bike lanes and with easy-to-follow bike routes—could help lower childhood obesity rates. In 2009, only 13 percent of all US children walked or rode to school, compared to nearly half in 1969.
Cycling Saves a the World a Whole Lotta Money
Compared to the cost of gas, car repair, parking, and of course, the environmental impact of driving versus riding, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy has calculated that society would save $24 trillion cumulatively between 2015 and 2050, and cut CO2 emissions from urban passenger transport by nearly 11 percent—about 300 megatons of CO2 emissions if 23 percent of the world started bike commuting, compared to the seven percent currently riding to work.
Bikes Make for a Happier Society
It’s a bit more esoteric, but cycling to work or for errands might make for a happier workforce, and that’s good for any city. Cycling has been shown to sharpen your thinking and destress your body and your brain, so commuting to work by bike just makes sense if you hope to have a more productive day. In Dublin, a city with a lot of beautiful architecture, sights, and sounds, the commute would be more a pleasure than a pain if bike lanes are slightly improved.