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Even More Americans Have Stopped Biking To Work (usatoday.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the road-sharing-vs-ride-sharing dept.

The percentage of Americans biking to work has dropped for the third year straight, reports the U.S. Census Bureau. An anonymous reader quotes USA Today: Nationally, the percentage of people who say they use a bike to get to work fell by 3.2 percent from 2016 to 2017, to an average of 836,569 commuters, according to the bureau's latest American Community Survey, which regularly asks a group of Americans about their habits. That's down from a high of 904,463 in 2014, when it peaked after four straight years of increases....

Experts offered several explanations for the nationwide decrease that has unfolded even as cities spent millions trying to become more bike-friendly. Most obviously, lower gasoline prices and a stronger economy contributed to strong auto sales and less interest in cheaper alternatives, such as mass transit and bikes. The rise of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft and electric scooters cut into bike commuting, said Dave Snyder, executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition.
In at least two American cities -- Cleveland and Tampa -- the number of bike commuters has dropped by 50%.

6 of 275 comments (clear)

  1. Constant job changes are needed by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Interesting

    to get ahead since companies don't really give raises anymore, that means you can't really live within biking distance unless you're really, really lucky. Doesn't help that people usually hate cyclists with a passion, and that's if they see them. I've been run off the road more than once by somebody completely oblivious to my existence.

    And of course most cities don't have money for bike paths. No joke, there's several places in my city where there's a path going out but not coming _back_. And a lot of times the bike path has just eroded away and there's no money to restore it.

    --
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    1. Re:Constant job changes are needed by Darinbob · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Ya, it's dangerous. And they don't want to admit it. Every year see someone else with a black eye or broken arm or major road rash. I used to ride a small motorcycle, and I realized pretty quick that there was a higher than normal probability of being in a very bad accident that was not at all my own fault. And then I see a significant number of cyclists not even in the bike lanes or who are staying right on that painted white line.

      People have asked me why I don't bike. Never mind the obvious answer that I haven't biked in decades and won't be joining their all day mountain ride anytime soon. My first answer I give is often "there's no safe route for me" and then they look at me like I was spouting nonsense.

      I do agree that I should take my car to work less often, but that means using mass transit (which also means getting more exercise).

  2. People Drive To Avoid in the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Driving in the US helps you avoid all the homeless people using public transport or walking. The decision may not be entirely conscious, though it isn't uncommon to find human waste on a seat used for public transport (usually urine, really nasty if it is in fabric seats like those used on BART in SF). The rise in homelessness is likely causing more driving to avoid the problems in US communities like homelessness due to drug addiction and mental illness (or "learned helplessness"). A vehicle in America is essentially a container that can limit what problems you may experience on a day-to-day basis.

  3. Re:Not worth it by sedman · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Worth it is in the eye of the beholder.

    My commute is 18 miles one way and while I don't do it every day, I do commute year round. As to the 20% grades, I have a couple of them I have to deal with each way. There is a significant investment of time to do this, but it beats going to a gym.

    Living in a rural area, the death wish part really only comes into play once I it the city where I work. I've had more close calls in the final two miles than the rest of the commute by several orders of magnitude.

  4. Is there a leadership? by Max_W · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Does any leader of the US congress or the US government commute to work by bicycle?

  5. Re: Not worth it by sedman · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Since work has a show facility, all of us that commute are smelling fresh by the time we sit down at our desks to work.