How Your Commute Affects Your Health

Compared to biking, driving to and from work means slightly less air pollution but much less physical activity. That means you will likely die about one year earlier.

Interesting research from the Lancet tries to estimate the air pollution and physical activity impact of different modes of transportation. They find, that yes, taking the bike or walking will mean you experience *more* air pollution. But the physical activity involved means that you will overall have a *better* health outcome.

If you look at the bus row for 20-39 year-olds, you see they gain 0.09 YLE (years of life expectancy) from less air pollution than the guys bicycling. But they lose 0.69 years of life expectancy from less physical activity, leading to an overall loss of 0.59 years of life.

The study assumes a 7km commute (so twice a day, 5 days a week), but finds almost identical benefits for 3.5km.

It does not include the increased risks from noise and accidents but argues that other studies show it would likely reduce but not eliminate the overall benefits.