CO2 Emissions

[TamZam]

I'd love to see the amount of carbon dioxide emissions prevented from commuting by bicycle, walking, etc. It could be displayed on your activity just like calories burned (but only when "commute" is chosen). Not only could this encourage more people to choose active transportation, but I read on your Commutes on Strava page that "we hope to make the commuting experience on Strava more rewarding and exciting in the future." A win-win!

CO2 Emissions displayed on NH CommuteSmart platform

[Soren]

Thanks for submitting your idea. It has been reviewed by our moderation team and is now open to voting.

[Jan_Mantau]

These whole CO2 saving calculations are completely ridiculous. If you commute by walk or bicycle you always burn additional CO2 comparing to staying at home or comparing to using a vehicle that goes regardless if you use it or not (public transportations). And nobody knows how much you do eat additionally if you commute by your own power or what you're car would have burned. Can't you just be happy to not use a car without someone applauding you for it by giving you fake numbers?

[CreakyCrank]

@TamZam , I think this is a great idea.  Everybody knows that we have become a car dependent society in most of the 'western' world (Europe less so), and if we can encourage people to take alternative modes of transport (vs a single person in a multi-thousand pound vehicle), we'll all be better off for it, both from the carbon footprint, as well as the wear/tear on infrastructure, and the hazards presented to cyclists and pedestrians by excess vehicular traffic.

As for the emissions comparisons - here is some interesting information:

According to research from the University of Oxford, choosing a bike over a car just once a day can reduce the average person’s transportation-related emissions by 67%.  

That’s because cycling has a carbon footprint of just 33 grams of CO2 per mile traveled. That’s up to 30 times lower than that of a fossil fuel car, and even less than that of walking or taking public transportation.  

Cycling doesn’t have a carbon footprint of zero because of the emissions required to manufacture and distribute a bike, and because of the extra food someone may have to eat to “fuel” the cycling they do. But this carbon footprint is minimal – if you rode your bike just 2 miles a day, five days a week instead of driving, you’d offset this initial footprint of the bike in less than a year.  

Of course, you will get people who argue against this, but when you think of it from a scientific viewpoint (physics), the energy it takes to move mass over a distance is obviously greater when the mass is increased, so it just makes sense that a single person (or two people) in a car would have a greater impact than a person on a bike, on foot, or on roller-blades.

[entio]

@Jan_Mantau came here to post this 🙂