getting 22% of all trips done by bike, and 3/4 of the people bike at least some of the time is impressive. Still, the 1/2 empty part of me says well thats 78% of trips are done by car
No. It means 78% of trips are not done by bike.
Most people have foot. And there is public transit (duh, have you looked at the thread title?).
Road surfaces expand in the summer and contract in winter, and the movement cause cracks, potholes etc, reducing usage saves very little money.
Strangely that does happen a lot less for bike paths. So maybe it has to do with
I've noticed that MMM has a large number of bicycle enthusiasts. I think I understand why, Pete, is/was a big bike proponent.
That may be, but maybe it's also because the bike is by far the most superior mode of transportation, especially now with ebikes.
My impression was that Finnish city was pretty small, and had no mass transit, other than possible buses. Feel free to post a link showing me differently/
Traffic is almost always defined as a vehicle (which could be a car, bike, motorcycle, or rickshaw) so 22% doesn't include walking. Does walking next door to give your neighbor mail delivered to your address count as a trip, how about walking in the mall from the drug store to the food court?
Do you have a source for lower maintenance on bike paths?
I agree that E-bikes are promising. Certainly for countries like India and China, other developing countries they make a lot more sense than cars.
However, there are many dimensions to measuring transportation. Safety as measured by deaths/injuries per person miles is important. The lines are blurry between a bike, e-bike, moped, and motorcycle. I have yet to see a good breakdown of safety data so I'm hesitant to say e-bikes are superior.
In addition, there is the utility function. An e-bike is great for going to school, or the park, or work for many people. Not very good for grocery shopping for a family for a week, and completely unsuitable for dropping your kids of at school, or taking your elderly parent to a doctor's appointment.