Bike

Cycling is beneficial to your wallet, health and our environment. The average annual operating cost of a bicycle is $308 whereas the average cost for a car is $8,220. Additionally, bicycles do not burn non-renewable fossil fuels and don’t give off other pollution and harmful emissions.

Philadelphia is one of the most popular bike commuting cities in America with more people commuting by bicycle, per capita, than any of the other ten biggest cities. Our region has one of the most extensive bicycle trail systems in the country, including the Circuit Trails, a vast regional trail network composed of hundreds of miles of interconnected trails that is growing in size each year across the nine-county region in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. There are also hundreds of miles of other dedicated, on-street bike lanes interconnected throughout Philadelphia.

How To Get Started

 

Get A Bike

Pull that old bike out of the basement or garage and get it tuned up. Borrow one from a friend. Buy a used or new bike online or from a shop. Alternatively, thanks to Indego, our city’s bike share system, you don’t even need to own a bike to start cycling to work. With over 700 self-service bikes and 70 stations, Indego offers round-the-clock access to public transportation, and is continuing to expand.

Get The Gear

You may need a few more items to ensure your ride will be safe and comfortable.

• Front White Light & Rear Red Reflector – Required by law to be on bikes between dusk and dawn. Rear red light is not required, but highly encouraged because it will help increase your nighttime visibility.
• Helmets – In Pennsylvania, children under the age of 12 must wear helmets when riding a bike. Helmets save lives and are highly encouraged to be worn by people of all ages.

Optional items you might find useful:

• Bell
• Rear view mirror
• Repair kit and spare tubes
• Water bottle cage
• Bike basket, rack or pannier
• Coffee cup holder
• Fenders

 

Know The Rules Of the Road

You can see Philadelphia’s rules and regulations around biking here.

Plan Your Route

Plan your bike route to work and give a test run in advance. Use GoPhillyGo, a new online mapping tool for the Greater Philadelphia Region, to plan your bike ride to and from work. Developed with state-of-the-art mapping technology, GoPhillyGo makes it easy for users to plan their routes, even multimodal trips — combining biking + walking + public transportation within one trip — to go anywhere within the greater Philadelphia area without the use of a car. It even provides details on pedestrian and bike routes, letting users customize their trips for flattest, fastest and safest.

Combining Transit

Some trips may require combining cycling with public transit. Check out GoPhillyGo’s tips and tricks on multimodal transportation. Watch SEPTA’s video on how to use the bike racks on the SEPTA buses. And of course, use GoPhillyGo as the only way to plan your multimodal trip.

If you would like more information on cycling, please contact Clean Air Council by calling 215-567-4004 x 110 or emailing nrogers@cleanair.org.