Politics & Governance / Public Policy / Urban Planning & Governance

60% of Car Trips Are Under 3 Miles: Why We Choose Gridlock Over Biking

Patrick Rérat

You sit in traffic for 20 minutes to drive 2 miles. It's absurd, but we all do it. A massive Swiss study of 14,000 commuters reveals why. It's not about rain, hills, or laziness. It's about engineered choices. Professor Patrick Rérat and his team at the University of Lausanne expose the hidden rules of our streets. They show how 60% of daily trips are under 5 km—a distance you could bike in 15 minutes. Yet we use multi-ton machines. Why? The study breaks down the four invisible walls keeping us in cars: weather, logistics, multitasking, and the biggest one—fear of death. It also reveals the shocking pollution irony: you breathe twice as much toxic air inside your car as outside on a bike. Discover the psychological sanctuary of cycling, the game-changing power of e-bikes, and the hard truth that safe bike lanes are a political choice, not a cultural one. This is not a guilt trip. It's a reality check on how our cities are designed to fail us.