The fall GoByBike Week kicks off Sept. 23 and runs til Oct. 6, encouraging B.C. residents to swap their cars for pedal power.
Participants – including e-bikers and those on rollerblades and scooters – can register and log their rides at gobybike.ca. Simultaneously, they will be entered to win provincial prizes, including the grand prize: a cycling adventure in Portugal.
While the event aims to help people discover the joys of bike riding, improve mental and physical health and encourage reducing greenhouse gases, according to organizers GoByBike BC Society, another benefit of biking is easing the pressure on one's pocketbook.
The cost of owning a car
A mid-sized car, for instance, may use 8 litres of gas for 100 kilometres. If someone drives 10 kilometres to work one way, that’s about 416 litres a year, just to commute. At $1.72 per litre (prices early September), it will cost about $715.52 a year.
Consider that this number is just the cost of commuting to work – it doesn't include other commutes, wear and tear, depreciation, parking and insurance.
The average cost of owning a car in Canada is $1,387 a month or $16,644 annually, according to a recently updated report on Ratehub.ca, a Canadian financial comparison platform.
The platform breaks car ownership down into cost areas, including gas and parking ($200 a month) and car insurance ($111 a month). It found that depreciation was the greatest cost of car ownership, costing $592 per month.
Statistics Canada 2021 statistics are similar, finding that the B.C. annual average of overall transportation expenses is $10,879, accounting for 15 per cent of household spending.
The cost of owning a bike
While the type of bike one owns can impact costs, Colleen Sparks, the executive director of Capital Bike, illustrated with her own experience how biking can save money.
"My main bike for commuting and travel costs about $1,000 and I spend $200-$300 per year on maintenance, compared to a car that can cost somewhere between $400-$900/month. I also get most of my exercise on my bike while commuting – which saves me time and money since I don’t need to go to a gym," she said.
There are costs to consider when making a switch to bike more regularly, though these pale in comparison to the costs of owning a car, Sparks added.
"Using a bike saves so much money and you don’t have to purchase an expensive bike to get started as there are great starter bikes and incredible deals on used bikes online," Sparks said. "But don’t skimp – if you think of what you would spend on parking and gas, you will easily recover your costs in months."
It is important to get a bike that fits you, your needs, and is in good working order, Sparks said.
Things without a price tag
Not all things have a price tag. During Spring GoByBike Week, nearly 42,000 riders across British Columbia pedalled 1,440,397 kilometres preventing 312,280 kilograms of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere. This is just one of a few reasons why Sparks loves GoByBike Week and biking.
"I love the feel of fresh air rushing past, the smells of each season, the freedom of not struggling to find and pay for parking, the exercise I get for about the same time I’d spend in my car, the money I’ve saved and mostly how much more I appreciate the cool and beautiful things that I ride by whether here in the Capital Region, or when travelling," she said.
During Fall GoByBike Week, riders can visit Celebration Stations along popular cycling routes for free food and drink, one-time prize draws, bike mechanics and a chance to win the grand prize bike.
They can also celebrate a little extra wiggle room in their wallets.
