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

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%.

Comments

Constant job changes are needed

[rsilvergun]

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.

Re:Constant job changes are needed

[Darinbob]

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).

Not gas, not cost

[markdavis]

>"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."

No. Who are these "experts"??

Almost nobody rides a bike to work to "save gas." For most, if he/she is within easy biking range, that doesn't amount to much gas. And it isn't cost either. Those biking do so primarily for exercise, possible enjoyment, and in some cases to reduce wear on their car (short start/stop trips are rough on ICE cars, plus they sit in the sun parked all day). For most it is certainly not as fast or convenient, especially in bad weather. And it is often very unsafe, certainly if it requires ANY riding on major/busy roads.

I bike almost every day to work and have for many years, but I also live 0.5mi from work. Yes, I also sometimes walk, but typically want to get there/home faster and also biking deters being stopped for conversations with neighbors :)

I do, even in the snow.

[lhaeh]

I do, even in the snow, especially the snow actually. I find it takes less time for me to bike to work than to clear the snow off my car in the morning. When I got my job, I went online to look for a place to rent, I put my work's postal (zip) code into craigslist and sorted results for the closest. Bicycle ride is all of 10 minutes. I used to have an hour long commute, it was terrible, what a waste of my life. I'll take a tiny apt over a nice house rather than ever do that again. In the winter, my ride is all in the dark, so I have blindingly bright lights on my bike, no way someone won't see me. About 1/4 of my ride is on a bicycle path, so I get to see lots of nature, rabbits every day, and there is a homeless camp that provides some entertainment as well. That little bit of exercise in the morning wakes me up and leaves me feeling great coming in to work.

Re:Bicycles and Motorcycles are not safe on roads.

[Darinbob]

Yup. The accidents are very often not the fault of the motorcycle driver. Or the bicycle rider. Things on the road that are not autos are often difficult to see for many reasons, and not just because some people are stupid. Blind spots abound in automobiles. Now going further than this and having a bike not be in an expected place like the bike line but instead cutting across multiple lanes of traffic without signaling will just compound everything (get off the damn bike, stop at the light, and put your foot on the ground instead of weaving around while you try to keep your balance).

For example, it was very common for me to experience autos passing my motorcycle within my own lane. That is, instead of getting all the way over into the lane to the left, they'd straddle the line between the lanes so that their car was just a few inches from my knee. And tailgating was so amazingly common, which is highly dangerous because the motorcycle can't safely slow down.

But my solution was to stop using a motorcycle. I didn't go and play the victim card or demand that the city institute new rules. If I ended up in a hospital bed it wouldn't matter at all if it was my fault or not.