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Cycling in Asia： Opening new roads to sustainability Asia's rising middle class may be driving the increase in car ownership， leading to traffic congestion and air pollution in the region's cities， but this status symbol may be slowly giving way to an old love-cycling．
More Asians are jumping on a bicycle for fresh air and to lead a more environmentally-friendly and active lifestyle in recent years as staying sedentary inside a car for hours on end could take a toll on one's health， and be hard on the wallet because of the high cost of fuel and maintenance．
In a new study of vehicle ownership in 44 countries by Pew Research Center， households around the world own bicycles more than motorcycles and cars． Japan and Thailand rank second and third in terms of bike ownership globally， although these two countries also rank high in car ownership， with 81 percent and 51 percent of their populations owning at least one vehicle．
China is also leading the world in the number of bike-sharing schemes， with about 170 bike-sharing systems operating in the country．
Singapore， known for its efficient public transport system but has no established culture of cycling as a transport option， is one of the countries now keen to change that． It is spending $43 million on bike lanes and cycling facilities as part of a national cycling plan．
ADB （Asian Development Bank） is looking at including bicycles as part of a public transport network in some cities in Southeast Asia through bike-sharing schemes． Many cities around the world including Amsterdam and Copenhagen have shown the successful integration of bike-sharing programmes in public transport systems．
In another form of bike-sharing， cycling has also become a solution to help poor students in rural communities access bicycles as a form of sustainable transport． Non-profit group Bike for the Philippines are lending bicycles for free to help poor students in the country who still need to walk three kilometres to school because of lack of access to public transport or who have no ability to pay for its high costs．
United Kingdom-based Bamboo Travel says their clients are increasingly interested in cycling tours when they plan their trips to Asia．
"In the last few years we have seen demand for cycling excursions grow quickly． And we find a lot of our clients now request some time cycling in places that before they used to do sightseeing by car． Clients of all ages have become healthier and more environmentally conscious in recent years and cycling has grown as a result，" Ewen Moore， sales director at Bamboo Travel， tells Eco-Business．
"They're very attractive-a fun and healthy way to do some sightseeing，" said Moore．
Cycling in Asia： Opening new roads to sustainability | Introduction | Cycling as a new （1） ______ of middle class is coming out． |
| Cycling is beneficial to one's （2） ______ and wallet as well as to our environment． |
| （3） ______ of bike ownership or bike-sharing systems | Pew study shows that more bicycles （4） ______ families than automobiles in 44 countries．
●People in Japan and Thailand （5） ______ higher ownerships of cars and bikes．
●The number of bike-sharing schemes in China （6） ______ the world．
●National cycling plan in Singapore is （7） ______ its established culture． |
| New ways of cycling | Public Transport Network
Amsterdam and Copenhagen are leading the world in （8） ______ bike-sharing programmes to public transport systems． |
Helping Poor Students
Lending bicycles for free benefits poor students who could not access or （9） ______ the public transport． |
Cycling for Tourisim
●Cycling tours are （10） ______ fast in Asia and are replacing car sightseeing in some places．
●Cycling tours are economic， healthy and environment- friendly． |