Over the last decade, the amount of bicycle commuters have increased 60 percent in the U.S. As the U.S. Census Bureau reports, this is the largest percentage increase of all commuting modes tracked by the 2000 Census and the 2008-2012 American Community Survey. Along with the study, the Bureau released a new interactive map that allows you to zoom-in and explore the commuting statistics for every neighborhood in the U.S. Find out how to access this map and read some highlights from the report, after the break...
As you can see in the graph above, Portland, Oregon, has experienced the largest increase of bicycle commuters. This isn’t surprising, considering that over the past 14+ years the city has focused improving their infrastructure to make bicycling more convenient, comfortable and accessible. They have even released the “Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030” while calls for more than a quarter of all trips to be made by bicycling by 2030.
Here are some more highlights from the report:
- The West had the highest rate of biking to work at 1.1 percent, and the South had the lowest rate at 0.3 percent.
- The median commute time for those who bike to work was about 19.3 minutes.
- Men were more likely to bike to work than women were. The rate of bicycle commuting for men was more than double that of women, 0.8 percent compared with 0.3 percent.
- Those with a graduate or professional degree or higher and those with less than a high school degree had the highest rates of biking to work, at 0.9 and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Check out the commuting statistics in your neighborhood, and read the Bureau’s study in detail here.
Reference: US Census Bureau
