[Peakoil] Bicycle sales outpace cars as firms start treadly fleets

[Antony Barry]

Bicycle sales outpace cars as firms start treadly fleets


SALES of bicycles outpaced those of motor vehicles in 2006, as more  
people turned to pedal-power to cut petrol bills.

The industry-backed Cycling Promotion Fund said 1,273,781 new bikes  
were sold last year, significantly ahead of the 962,521 new cars and  
trucks bought.

A spokesman for the fund, Ian Christie, said Australians were  
increasingly using bikes as their preferred form of daily transport.

Mr Christie said sales rose 9 per cent last year as more people  
turned to bikes to cut petrol costs and boost their fitness.

"There is an emerging trend towards people using bikes as their  
official company-supplied vehicle in place of the traditional company  
car," he said.

"Some of Australia's biggest corporations now have bicycle fleets and  
when you add in government organisations, we now know of at least 50  
organisations that operate fleets of bikes. Although the company  
bicycle is a long way from taking over from the company car, it's an  
important trend when you consider that nearly half of all cars sold  
are to company fleets."

He said sales records were set in all segments of the market, from  
children's bikes to high-end models, beating vehicle sales for the  
seventh consecutive year.

Their lead on car sales was extended by 300,000 - a sales edge that  
exceeds the total sales of the market leader, Toyota.

AAP

From: < http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/01/04/1167777219285.html>

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