2007 Benchmarking Report - Alliance for Biking & Walking

3: Current Status of Bicycling
How Many People Bike
This question is not easily answered with the limited data
available. The most reliable source of information on how many
people bike comes from the U.S. Census Journey to Work data.
However, Census figures are limiting and inaccurate for a number
of reasons. Because the Census only counts bicycle trips to
work, it leaves out all other trips such as shopping trips, recreational
trips, all trips of those under 16, and trips by unemployed
people. The Census also only reports regular commute patterns,
so misses people who walk or cycle one or two days a week.
Bicycle Travel Data for All Trip Purposes from NHTS
The National Household Travel Study (NHTS) is another
source of data on daily travel, sponsored by the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics and the Federal Highway Administration.
The NHTS attempts to collect data on all trips, not just trips
to work. However, because it is a national survey, all analysis
below the national level have problems with small sample sizes.
It is also difficult to extract data for cities from this source, as it
uses Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) which often stretch
beyond city boundaries. Due to these limitations, NHTS data on
city and state levels should be considered as rough estimates for
cycling in these areas.
Other Efforts to Determine Bicycle Travel
Because of the serious gap in reliable data on bicycling
(and walking) trips, there have been numerous efforts to create
a more reliable means to measure travel. Barnes and Krizek
(2005) developed a formula for determining total cycling trips by
multiplying the commute share by 1.5 and adding 0.3%. Some cities
have done their own travel counts in an attempt to determine
the share of all bike trips. Of all cities surveyed, eight reported
having conducted some type of bicycle count at least once (Chicago,
Denver, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Portland,
San Francisco, and San Jose). Los Angeles and Long Beach,
both in Los Angeles County, noted that Los Angeles County had
commissioned a study that determined that 2.4% of all trips are
by bicycle in Los Angeles County and says, “This may be slightly
higher if we limit the estimate to Los Angeles CITY.”
Los Angeles provides an example of the discrepancies
in travel counts and methods to determine bicycling (and walking)
mode share. The Barnes and Krizek formula indicates that
1.19% of all trips in the City of Los Angeles are by bicycle. This
number is higher than the NHTS estimate of 0.97% of all trips
represented by cyclists. According to the 2000 Census, 0.61%
of work trips are by bike. The Census Bureau’s American Community
Survey (ACS) 2005 data shows bike to work share in Los
Angeles as 0.59% (for data discrepancies between the ACS 2005
and the 2000 Census see Appendix 4). The study commissioned
by Los Angeles County is more likely correct, but because there
is a lack of standardized trip counts for multiple cities, Thunderhead
could not extrapolate a formula for all bike trips to apply
across cities and states.
Bike Trip Data for This Report
This report relied on the most consistent and dependable
PHOTO COURTESY OF CARL MILLER
CURRENT STATUS OF BICYCLING
Benchmarking Bicycling Bicycling & Walking & Walking/ the U.S./ Thunderhead Alliance 2007 2007
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