3. Savings
- Économie personnelle
The purchase cost of a bicycle is 20 to 50 times less than that of a car 21. In 2020, the average price of a new vehicle was $45,975; and $29,434 for a used car 22. In comparison, for a quality new bicycle, a user can expect to pay between $400 and $1,000 23 ; and between $2,000 and $2,500 for an electric bike 24.
Annual transportation costs
For bicycles, costs include 25 :
- Annual maintenance: around $200.
- Accessories: about $200.
- Helmet;
- Reflectors ;
- Lights;
- Luggage rack ;
- Mudguards ;
- Bells ;
- A lock: between $50 and $150.
What’s more, maintenance costs can be reduced by doing it yourself on your bike. All it takes is a little motivation and resourcefulness.
For the car, costs include 26 :
- Fixed annual fees :
- Driver’s license: between $87 and $427 ;
- Car insurance: on average $732 ;
- Vehicle registration: between $230 and $275.
- Gas and maintenance :
- Gas: $3770 ;
- Maintenance: about $400.
- Monthly payments: average $6,000.
per year just for owning a car. Added to this are parking fees and repair costs in case of an accident.
For public transportation in Montreal, the costs include 28:
- Opus card: between $6 and $15
- Bus and metro transportation fees: $1,128.
Infrastructure costs
The city’s investments in cycling infrastructure would be 67 to 230 times cheaper than those for automobiles. 29.
Here are the amounts invested by the government by mode of transport:
- For active infrastructure (bicycles and pedestrians): $125 million over five years 30;
- For public transportation infrastructure: $13 billion over ten years 31;
- For automobile infrastructure: $31 billion over ten years 32!
This difference demonstrates the minimal investment needed for the creation of cycling infrastructure. However, government priorities still seem to be heavily focused on automobiles and their road systems.