Bicycling to Work Increased 60% Over Past Decade

 Image source: flickr.com Simon Tunbridge

The US Census released its latest data on bicycling and walking to work.  The report, "Modes Less Traveled — Bicycling and Walking to Work in the United States: 2008-2012", authored by Brian McKenzie, shows that the number of people who bicycle to work has increased by approximately 60 percent over the last decade. The number of people who walk to work has stabilized since 2000. A summary of the report is available to read at http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/american_community_survey_acs/cb14-86.html. Highlights from the report are listed below:

 Biking to Work Highlights

• 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. 
• Among large cities, Portland, Ore., had the highest bicycle-commuting rate at 6.1 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. 
• 1.5 percent of those with an income of $10,000 or less commuted to work by bicycle, the highest rate of bicycle commuting by any income category. 
• African-Americans had the lowest rate of biking to work at 0.3 percent, compared with some other race or two or more races who had the highest rate at 0.8 percent.

Walking to Work Highlights 

• The Northeast showed the highest rate of walking to work at 4.7 percent of workers. Several of the places with high rates were "college towns," including Ithaca, N.Y., where about 42.4 percent walked to work. The South had the lowest rate at 1.8 percent. Among large cities, Boston was one of the highest walking-to-work cities at 15.1 percent. 
• Workers living in core cities walked to work at a rate of 4.3 percent, compared with 2.4 percent for workers in suburbs. 
• The median commute time for those who walk to work was 11.5 minutes, and they left their home at later hours than other modes. 
• Men walked to work at a rate of 2.9 percent compared with 2.8 percent for women. 
• Those with less than a high school degree had the highest rate of walking to work at 3.7 percent, followed by those with graduate or professional degrees at 2.7 percent. 
•  8.2 percent of those with an income of $10,000 or less walked to work, the highest rate of walking to work by any income category. Asians and workers of some other race or two or more races had the highest rate of walking to work at 4.0 and 4.2, respectively.