Petrol's gone feral. Time to reconsider the car?

Petrol prices are currently soaring, and it doesn't look like they're coming down any time soon. (Thanks, global economy!)

If filling up your tank has started to feel like being stabbed in the wallet, the good news is that there's an alternative, and it's already sitting in your garage.

We're talking about your bike, obviously.

(What, did you think we were about to recommend a horse?)

Riding to work will not only will you save you a whole heap of money, but it will also give your cardio fitness a boost. Additionally, you'll actually be happier—and smarter—by the time you get to your desk. (It's true; we have references. #smrt)

So put down the car keys. Here are seven great reasons to bike to work instead.

It’s cheaper than driving or taking the bus

At the time of writing, unleaded petrol was costing around $2.30 per litre.

Let's look at how that stacks up over a year.

According to the AAA's Transport Affordability Index, in mid-2025 the average Adelaide household was already spending $446 a week, or around $23,200 a year, on transport, factoring in car loan repayments, fuel, insurance, rego, servicing and everything else that comes with keeping a car on the road.

Now consider that that figure predates this year's skyrocketing petrol prices. Based on AAA data and current petrol prices (keeping all other factors the same), Adelaide households are likely now spending around $480 a week — nearly $25,000 a year! — on driving.

And we haven't even included the cost of parking.

OK, so cars are crazy expensive. What about catching a bus or a train instead? Both are cheaper than driving, though, as of October 2026, all public transport costs have increased. Regular commuting via public transport will now set you back around $1500 per year for a 28-day Metro pass.

Consider these numbers versus the cost of riding your bike for a year.

Based on our own records (and we have a lot of records), the average yearly service cost for a typical non-suspension commuter bike is around $600-700, including things like tyres, cables, etc.

Even buying a brand new commuting bike is still going to be far cheaper than running your car for a year. For a mere fifth of your car's annual costs, you can walk out of a shop with a durable, comfortable mode of transport which will last you for years.

And let's not talk about car depreciation...

Commuting can even replace the ongoing cost of a gym membership.

Who needs to drive to a fitness centre and then sit on a stationary bike when you can, you know, just ride a bike in the first place?

You'll still be working on your fitness, but you're also outside in the fresh air, seeing the sights, and getting some Vitamin D—a hormone which your body can’t produce by itself—from the sun.

And you don’t need to deal with other people’s sweaty butts and germs.

Leaving money aside for the moment, let's look at the physical benefits of biking to work.

It’s better for your brain

Commuting by bike will boost your brainpower.

Aerobic exercise is proven to improve cognitive executive function – that’s the part of your brain that deals with reasoning, planning and problem-solving — no matter whether you're young or old.

Physical activity has also been shown to slow down brain aging, and cycling is even being proven to be effective at reducing the effect of Parkinson's.

It's good for your recall, too, helping to build new brain cells which are responsible for memory. Cycle to work and you won't have to stare at the screen for the millionth time and wonder what your password is.

It’s better for your heart

Commuting by bike is the perfect way to give your cardiovascular system a boost, and it doesn't take long, either. While 30 minutes a day is ideal, even a 3km commute is enough to give you a statistically significant increase in your physical fitness.

A 2024 Scottish study on 80,000 long-term bike commuters also found that cycling lowered their risk of an early death from any cause by 47%.

We shall outlive them all! hahahahahaha!!!

Riding to work probably won't make you as breathless as an interval training session, but this can be a good thing: medium level intensity cardio still improves your heart health, and it does so without unnecesary stress on your system.

If you're training, commuting is the perfect way to add in a recovery ride. A gentle pedal to work the day after a hard session encourages blood flow and helps with DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) so you can get back to smashing your PBs next time. And this time you can just enjoy the scenery rather than checking Strava every two seconds.

It reduces stress

Although all physical movement is beneficial, when looking directly at active transport methods, cycling consistently comes out on top. Study after study confirms that people who ride to work are less stressed than those who don’t.

First of all, serotonin—the happy hormone—kicks in pretty quickly after you start riding. It also stays at an increased level during the day, so you can cope more easily with those tedious meetings.

And did you know that physical activity is also found to activate endogenous cannabinoids which alleviate pain, induce mild sedation and increase euphoria? These cannabinoids even have anxiolytic effects, similar to anti-anxiety medications, and can help address mild to moderate depression.

It can be faster than driving or using public transport

Obviously this depends on how far you’re riding and in what conditions, but if you're riding into the Adelaide CBD from the inner suburbs, you'll probably beat your neighbour who's driven..

The BMCR team has tested this on several occasions where one of us has ridden to the shop where the other has driven; the bike has won every time.

You’re also not spending time waiting for trains or buses that are late or don’t show up.

Riding a bike also gives you far more route flexibility. You don’t have to stick to the streets – you can take pathways, parkland trails, footpaths, and those nifty one-way streets that bikes have right of way on.

Say goodbye to traffic lights and say hello to being the first one to the coffee machine in the morning.

It supports cycling infrastructure

For those who have never ridden a bike to work, there can be the perception that it's scary or unsafe.

Cycle commuting is neither of those things (unless you decide to commute down South Road/Main North Road, in which case, thoughts and prayers).

But! Do you know one of the fastest ways to make bike riding safer? Get more people cycling.

The term ‘there’s safety in numbers’ is literally true when it comes to people on bikes, and the safety aspect applies to pedestrians as well.

You may think that as the number of people riding increases, there'd also be a corresponding increase in the number of bicycle/car accidents but the reverse actually happens. Research even shows that if a community doubles the number of people cycling, the number of bike/car accidents drops by a third.

Yes, in the face of increased cycling participation, motorists actually change their behaviour to drive more safely.

Whether it's because drivers are forced to be aware of people on bikes simply because they see them more often or because maybe they know someone who rides—whatever it is, we're taking it as a win. (Yes, we've all encountered a dude in a ute who's somehow personally offended by our cycling, but the statistics back up the trend of safer driving overall. Also, we tend to remember the one driver who yelled at us and not the 99 who went past us without incident.)

But back to commuting.

The second important way to make cycling safer is to increase and improve cycling infrastructure.

It’s far easier to get support for new paths or improvements if there’s demonstratable demand for these facilities.

Let’s face it: councils are notoriously reluctant to roll out bike paths because of the perceived problem of lost car parking spaces.

There's also the constant myth that taking away parking spots and/or reducing road speed will lead to a downturn in business, despite the irrefutable, ongoing, worldwide evidence that shows the opposite.

Historically, despite what they might put out in their media releases, councils are rarely focused on things which are going to give the greatest long-term benefit to their community. Council members generally want to get re-elected, so they often fold in the face of protest, even if those protesting against implementing safe cycling options are frustratingly myopic.

Consider the debacle that was Adelaide's Sturt Street bikeway back in 2010.

It cost $400,000 but was so badly designed that most people hated it, including many bike riders. Adelaide City Council took this as a sign that people didn’t want bike lanes at all, and ripped it out (again, at great expense).

Every bike path since then continues to be an uphill battle, no pun intended.

So don’t give them the chance to do the old “we built a bike path once and nobody used it” tango – get out there on it, get your friends out on it, and show them that it’s needed.

And if a motorist ever argues with you about more bike lanes, just remind them: every person on a bike is one less car that they have to deal with. Just think of all the free parking spots they'll have!

By riding to work, not only are you reaping all of the benefits we've covered but you're also modelling positive behaviour for other people. The more people who ride, the more other people want to join in.

You on a bike could be the reason why someone who's been hesitating about riding to work actually gets out and does it.

So ride, and be that person for someone else, for your friends and family.

Who's ready to ride to work?

Bike commuting isn't just a practical way to dodge traffic and save money—it'll benefit your body and mind as well. (Hell, we haven't even touched on the fact that it's far better for the environment. We figured y'all already knew that.)

So forget sitting like a sack of flour behind a steering wheel. Get out there, enhance your cardiovascular health, boost your brainpower, alleviate stress, and contribute to safer roads for everyone.

And kiss Greenhill Road congestion goodbye forever.

Need to get your bike commute-ready? That's what we're here for.

All the research

Want to keep reading? Sure you do!

• Health benefits of pedestrian and cyclist commuting: evidence from the Scottish Longitudinal Study
• Cycling for health: improving health and mitigating the climate crisis
• Riding to work linked to better mental health
• Does cycle commuting reduce the risk of mental ill-health? An instrumental variable analysis using distance to nearest cycle path
• Aerobic Exercise Improves Cognition, Even in Young Adults
• Benefits of outdoor exercise confirmed
• A Problem Solving Approach to Movement Skill Acquisition: Implications for Special Populations
• Exercise-Mediated Neurogenesis in the Hippocampus
• A Virtuous Cycle: Safety In Numbers For Bicycle Riders
• Economic impacts on local businesses of investments in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure: a review of the evidence
• The Complete Business Case for Converting Street Parking Into Bike Lanes