Ride To Work Day was June 20, 2016

According to www.ridetowork.org the 25th annual Motorcycle Ride to Work Day is Monday, June 20th. It also has the pleasant coincidence of falling on the Summer Solstice (3:34 PM, for those in Vancouver). Could a Monday get any better?

A regular follow-up to Motorcycle Awareness Month, on this day millions of workers around the world will commute via motorcycles and scooters to highlight the efficiency and other positive benefits of these vehicles. It has been less highlighted in Canada, but I have a feeling that is about to change.

Motorcycle riders don’t just save themselves time and money, they do the same for car drivers, and they also help to reduce the emissions of cars. Repeated studies have shown the public benefits of riding are substantial, and include:

• Motorcycles make more spaces available for everyone else. 3 – 5 motorcycles fit per automobile parking space.

• Motorcycles consume far less resources per mile than most other mobility technologies.

• Motorcycles help reduce traffic congestion and save travel time.

• Riding is fun and helps make people more alert and engaged.

The Motorcycle Industry Association in the U.K. undertook tests comparing car and motorcycle performance on real journeys. Their findings suggest that traveling by motorcycle can shorten journey times by as much as 33 minutes of every hour for town centre and city travel, and 20 minutes of every hour for travel through a mixture of built-up and non built-up areas.