IamRVASurveyResultsfinal (1)

Survey Results
Maggie Sellers
Kiara Orbe
Ashley Bruner
AJ Lanaras
Ali Skahan

Executive Summary
1
The survey was specifically designed to gauge the state of the cycling community in
Richmond. We sought to evaluate the cycling community on three major premises:
safety, cycling infrastructure and public awareness of both I Am RVA and bike safety
topics. The survey is best understood after first examining the demographics of our
respondents.
Respondents and Demographics
• The majority of respondents are 21-26 years old, however a significant number are
15-20 years old. The low age distribution can be attributed to college-age respondents.
• The majority of respondents have an annual household income of $12,000-$50,000
per year which can be linked also to the aforementioned low age distribution.
• The majority of respondents have 1-2 people in their household, however 43% have
3-4 people in their household. Once again, we link this trend to college-aged respondents.
• The majority of respondents live in The Fan, with a notable amount residing in
Monroe Park.
• Of the 26% of respondents that live in The Fan, 19% are involved with local nonprofits
such as JDRF, Ram Pantry, Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation, HAND, The
Sierra Club and HD Advisors.
• Of respondents that live in The Fan, 46% own a bike, while only 39% of those living
outside of The Fan do.
Overall, it is apparent through an examination of the demographics that an overwhelming
majority of respondents are either college students or young professionals.
Our team suggests conducting research that focuses more heavily on the demographics
of your audience. However, we believe that your organization should focus efforts
on college aged people and those under 40. Respondents that are in the 45-50+ year
old age range reside primarily in outlying areas including Atlee, Chesterfield, Hanover,
Goochland, Short Pump and Bon Air. Based on your organization’s goals, we believe
focusing on this age group should not be a priority due to their location.

Safety
2
If respondents answered that they did not own a bike, they resumed the survey at “Have you
ever been in a bicycle accident?” which means they skipped the questions about helmet use
and bike use. Additionally, those that said they were not cyclists were ushered to the same
question, allowing them to skip helmet and bike use questions. Nine respondents both owned
a bike and cycled, and were evenly distributed on their helmet use. Results showed that those
who never or sometimes wear helmets either don’t own one or forget it. Outliers to the data
also stated they “don’t want to carry [it] around,” “it is not the law,” and they are “only going a
short distance.” Of those that do not wear helmets or sometimes wear helmets, half have been
in a bike accident. Note, however, that those that do not wear helmets also do not read about
bike safety, with 83% reporting they do not read cycling literature. We believe there is a connection
between being educated about bike safety and wearing a helmet.
Infrastructure
Respondents aged 21-26 that are highly in favor of bike related infrastructure also show
notable involvement with non-profits as 21% report involvement. Of respondents that are
strongly in favor of the addition of a bike lane to Floyd Avenue, 21% are involved with nonprofits.
JDRF appears twice on the list of nonprofits with which that subset are involved. The
list also includes Planned Parenthood, Special Olympics VA, HAND, HD Advisors, The Sierra
Club and Crossover Ministry. We believe your organization should focus on influencing
the middle ground of respondents-- those that have a neutral opinion of bicycling infrastructure
in Richmond. 23 respondents answered that they feel neutrally about the addition of a
bike lane to Floyd Avenue. Of these respondents, 91% are on social media with the majority
on Facebook, followed by Instagram and Twitter. A majority, 83%, of these respondents have
never heard of I Am RVA. 52% of these respondents are 21-26 years old. To target this “middle
of the road” demographic, your organization should focus efforts on social media and in
downtown Richmond areas such as The Fan and Monroe Park.
Public Awareness
Of the 41% of respondents that own bikes, 76% have not heard of I Am RVA. Respondents
that have not heard of I Am RVA primarily use Facebook and Instagram and get their news
either on social media or online news sites. They are young, active on social media and living
downtown. Another important factor to note is their income: 53% of respondents that have
not heard of I Am RVA make $12,000-$50,000 a year.

Because I Am RVA’s goals center around the purchase of a helmet (which 60% of people who
have not heard of I Am RVA either never or sometimes wear), your organization should take
income into consideration in future campaigns.
It is also important to examine the platforms and mediums through which it is best to reach
your audience. 92% of respondents age 21-26 use social media. Of that age range, 89% use
Facebook and 74% use Instagram. Interestingly, 100% of respondents aged 45-50 reported
they are active on social media. Once again, Facebook is the most popular with 86% of respondents
active and Instagram comes in second, with 71% of respondents active. I Am RVA
also currently maintains a Twitter account, a platform which is used by 59% of 21-26 year old
respondents and 57% of 45-50 year old respondents. Social media is the number one platform
through which respondents get their news. Not surprisingly, online news sources come
in close second. It is interseting to note that 0% of respondents aged 45-50 get their news
from print sources, with the most newspaper readers being in the 51+ age group. Local news
sources were popular among 21-26 year old respondents, 45-50 year old respondents and 51+
year old respondents. The Fan reports the same level of social media viewership, with 84%
of Fan resident respondents getting their news from social media and 80% using online news
sites to get their news. Monroe Park follows a similar trend.
3

4
Method:
We chose to distribute a survey so that we can reach a wide range of people/get a large sample
of people. Surveys allow us to conduct research remotely without inconveniencing participants,
while also getting a good feel for demographics and data in an easy to calculate format.
Rather than selecting a specific subset of people in Richmond, we surveyed the entire community.
This broad sampling method allowed us to gauge the state of the cycling community as a
whole.
Distribution:
To distribute our survey on social media, we used Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Diversifying
platforms used allowed us to reach three distinct demographics--millennials, 30-60 somethings
and professionals. Our client also expressed an interest in reaching college students. We
distributed surveys to VCU classes at varying levels and disciplines. We also contacted students
at other institutions on an informal basis.
Response Rate:
We reached out to approximately 200 people, both directly and indirectly via email and social
media. We received a total of 104 responses – 97 of which live in Richmond and its surrounding
areas and completed the remainder of the survey. Participants that responded that they
did not live in Richmond or its surrounding areas were thanked for their participation and
exited out of the survey.

Findings
5
Question 1: Do you live in Richmond
or its surrounding areas?
No
Ye s
We began by asking a qualifying
question to assess whether or not
survey participants lived in Richmond.
Results showed that 96%
of the participants lived in Richmond.
The 4% who did not, were
thanked, then automatically exited
from the remainder of the survey.
No
Yes
Question 2: Do you own a bike?
Our second question determined what percentage
of our audience owned a bike. We
found that only a 25% of the participants did.
Therefore, only a quarter of the respondents
answered questions regarding their cycling
habits. The highest rate of bike ownership occured
in the 21-26 year old age range that also
lived in The Fan. Within these demographics,
respondents reported using their bike primarily
for leisure and commuting purposes
Question 3: Are you a cyclist?
Results showed that 78% of those who owned a
bike did not consider themselves a “cyclist.” We
believe this can be attributed to the connotation
surrounding the term “cyclist”--a connotation
that could be corrected with education
and awareness efforts by your organization.
No
Yes

Question 4: How many times a
week do you ride your bike?
6
We asked the “cyclists” how often
they rode their bike to better understand
their cycling habits. Majority
said that they rode more than 8 times
a week. Others only rode 3-4 times
a week or less than 2 times a week.
Question 5: Do you wear a helmet?
Out of all the participants who
considered themselves “cyclists”,
33% always wore a helmet,
33% never wore a helmet, and
33% sometimes wore a helmet.
Sometimes
Never
Always
No
Yes
Question 6: If you do not wear a helmet,
why?
We found that the main reason cyclists
do not wear a helmet is because they don’t
own one. Other responders shared that they
choose to withhold from wearing helmets
because there is no law that requires bikers
to wear helmets, they don’t want to carry
one around, they always forget, or they only
travel short distances and feel it is unnecessary.
We believe I Am RVA could have
an impact on those who do not own one.

Question 7: For what purposes to you
ride your bike? (Select all that apply)
Almost all of the participants who considered
themselves cyclists rode their
bikes for leisure. However, two-thirds of
the respondents used their bicycle for exercise
and commuting. This showed that
the cyclists liked to use their bikes for a
many different purposes and aspects of
life. Bike use purposes also varied within
age group and repsondent location, with
the majority of 21-26 year old respondents
living in The Fan using their bikes
for leiksure and commuting purposes.
Commuting to and
from work/school
Exercise
Leisure
7
No
Yes
Question 8: Have you ever been in a bicke
accident?
Because bike safety is big part of I Am RVA’s
mission, we wanted to assess how many
people had been involved in bicycle accidents.
While majority had not been in an accident,
24% of the respondents reported that
they had. Data shows that 61% of these accidents
occured among respondents age 21-26.
Question 9: Do you read articles on
bicycle safety?
When asked if they read articles about
bike safety, 87% of respondents reported
they do not. Currently, 13% do
read articles, but we believe that there
could be an increase in bike safety readers
if delivered in an entertaining way.
No
Yes

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
5 4 3 2 1
8
Question 10: Please rank your opinion
of the addition of bike infrastructure
on Floyd Avenue from 1 to 5 with 1
being least in favor and 5 being most in
favor.
We were able to assess the Richmond
community’s desire to add
bicycle infrastructure, which can
help us see how in favor they are
to developing a bike community
Question 11: Have you ever been seriously
injured on a bike?
No
Yes
We inquired if participants had ever
been injured on a bike. We chose to ask
this because not all accidents necessarily
lead to injuries. We found that 12 people
said they had been injured at some point
while riding their bike. This means that
only 1 of the initial participants who
had been in an accident did not get hurt.
No
Yes
Question 12: Are you on social
media?
In an effort to gauge how I Am
RVA could better communicate
with their publics, we asked
whether or not participants were
active on social media. A whopping
94% replied that they were.

Question 13: Which social media
platforms do you use? (Select all
that apply).
We asked which social media platforms
respondents used in order
to gauge how I Am RVA could best
reach their target audience. The
top three sites were Facebook, Instagram
and Twitter. While this is
not surprising data, we do believe it
helps solidify that I Am RVA’s communication
efforts could be put into
these three social media platforms.
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Other, please specify
Pinterest
Vine
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
No
Yes
Question 14: Are you involved with
any cycling communities?
In hopes of predicting whether or not
partnering with cycling communities
could be beneficial to the company’s
mission, we asked participants if they
were involved in any cycling communities.
However, only two participants
out of 95 stated that they were members
of a community. We feel more
research would need to be completed
to determine whether or not partnering
with cycling communities would
be worth the time, effort and money.

10
Other, please specify
Online news sites
Newspaper
Local news
Social media
Question 15: How do you get your
news? (Select all that apply)
We asked how participants received
their news to get a feel for which
media outlets I Am RVA should focus
on. The majority said they received
their news on Social media,
followed by online news sites and
local news. We feel this is helpful
to gauge where media relations
could be utilized to generate buzz
around the company. Other responses
included Reddit, and word
of mouth, which could be helpful
in development of media outreach.
Question 16: Are you involved
with any local non-profits?
Because I Am RVA is a non-profit
organization we wanted to get a
feel for how involved our participants
were with non-profits. 70 of
the participants said they were not
involved at all. 25 said they were
No
Yes

Question 18: Do you own a car?
No
11
We asked whether or not our participants
owned a car in order to gauge
which forms of transportation they
used regularly. This was helpful considering
a large majority of participants
did not claim to ride their bikes.
Of respondents that do not own a
car, 63% also do not own a bike and
use walking as their primary source
of transportation. These respondents
are between 15 and 26 years old
and live primarily in Monroe Park.
Uber/T
axi
Yes
Question 19: What other forms of transportation
do you use? (Select all that
apply)
Skateboard
Walk
Bus
Since not everyone used a car or bike,
we wanted to assess how else they might
get around. We found that more than
half of participants walked to and from
each destination, followed by Uber/
Taxi. Because there were not many participants
who rode their bikes and skateboards,
we concluded that the majority
of our audience in the Richmond Community
chooses to walk or ride in a car.
Question 20: Have you ever heard of
I Am RVA?
No
We asked whether or not participants
had heard of I Am RVA and
found that while majority had not,
17% of our 95 participants had
heard of them. This shows us that I
Am RVA is a somewhat recognizable
name in the community, but
that there is room for improvement.
Yes

Other, please specify
Friend
Newspaper article
Social media
Question 21: If yes, How did you
hear of them?
We wanted to know how I Am RVA
was known by the 17% who recognized
their name. We asked how they
had heard of them, and the majority
responded they had heard of the
organization through social media
and friends. One or two even mentioned
newspapers and colleagues.
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Question 22: Are you following
them on social media?
We also asked whether or not those
who had heard of I Am RVA are
currently following them on social
media. Majority said they were not
following them, even they had heard
of them through social media. This
could mean that I Am RVA could
use assistance in gaining followers
from their social media efforts.
I am not on social media
No
Yes
50+
45-50
39-44
33-38
27-32
21-26
15-20
Question 23: How old are you?
Here we gathered demographic information.
The research showed
that most participants were between
21-26 years old, followed by
15-20. However, a large amount
of the remaining respondents
were 27-32, and 45 and older.

Question 24: What is your annual
household income?
We asked what respondent’s annual
household incomes were in order
to gather whether or not they were
inclined to have extra money for
spending, buying or contributing to
I Am RVA. We found that majority
made less than $90,000 a year, with 12
households making over $129,000.
$129,000+
$90,000-$128,000
$51,000-$89,000
$12,000-$50,000
13
Question 25: What is your current
household size?
7-9
5-6
3-4
1-2
We also gathered information on
household size, and came to the
conclusion that most participants
lived in 1-2 person households
or small family sized households.
Only two respondents claimed to
reside in a 7-9 person household.
Question 26: Which Richmond neighbrhood do
you live in?
We asked which part of Richmond participant’s
were from in order to better understand whether
or not they were in neighborhoods that were bike
friendly or had easy access to cycling environments.
We found that majority of participants lived
close to VCU with the exception of a few
in Chesterfield, the West End and Hanover.
We determined these areas are still significant
because they are less than 20 miles away
from the city, and still have small semi-urban
areas where cycling could be convenient.
Other, please specify
Museum District
Carytown
Shockoe Bottom
Church Hill
Near West End
Monroe Park
The Fan
Carver
Highland Park

Appendix 14
We are students at Virginia Commonwealth University conducting a survey to determine the
general public’s knowledge of cycling and safety procedures. We hope to find out how to better
share that knowledge with the public. Your participation is greatly appreciated and will help our
client with their communication and philanthropic efforts.
This survey is anonymous and should only take about 7-10 minutes of your time.
Do you live in Richmond, Va. or surrounding areas?
• Yes
• No
If no is selected, participant is thanked and exited out of survey.
Do you own a bike?
• yes
• no
Are you a cyclist?
• yes
• no
If yes, how many times a week do you ride your bike?
• 0-2
• 3-4
• 5-7
more than 8
If yes, do you wear a helmet?
• always
• never
• sometimes
If you do not wear a helmet, why?
• messes up my hair
• don’t own one
• too uncomfortable
• I forgot it
• other (please specify) ____________
Have you ever been in a bicycle accident?
• yes
• no

Have you ever been in a bicycle accident?
15
• yes
• no
Do you read articles about bicycle safety?
• Yes
• No
Please rank your opinion of the addition of bicycle infrastructure in the city on a scale of 1 to 5;
1 being the least in favor and 5 being most in favor.
The addition to a bicycle lane on Floyd Avenue.
1 2 3 4 5
Have you ever been seriously injured on a bicycle?
• yes
• no
Are you on social media?
• yes
• no
(If yes to # 10), What social media platforms do you use? (check all that apply)
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Vine
• Pinterest
• other (please specify) ____________
Are you a member of any cycling communities?
• Yes
• No
If Yes, with which communities are you involved? Please include any online communities and
the platform they are on.
____
How do you get your news? (Check all that apply)
• social media
• newspaper
• local news
• online news sites
• other (please specify) ____________
Are you involved with any local non-profits?
• yes
• no

(If yes to previous) With which local non-profits are you involved?
list
Do you own a car?
• yes
• no
What other forms of transportation do you use?
• bus
• walk
• skateboard
• uber/taxi
Have you ever heard of I Am RVA?
• Yes
• No
If yes, how?
• Social Media
• Newspaper article
• Friend
• Other; Please specify: _______
16
If yes, do you follow them on Social Media?
• Yes
• No
• I am not on social media
How old are you?
• 15-20
• 21-26
• 27-32
• 33-38
• 39-44
• 45-50
• 51+
What is your annual household income?
• $12,000-$50,000
• $51,000-$89,000
• $90,000-$128,000
• $129,000+

How many people are in your household?
• 1-2
• 3-4
• 5-6
• 7+
Which area of Richmond do you live in?
• Highland Park
• Ginter Park
• Mosby Court
• Gilpin Court
• Jackson Ward
• Carver
• The Fan
• Monroe Park
• Near West End
• Church Hill
• Fulton Hill
• Shockoe Bottom
• Scott’s Addition
• Carytown
• The Museum District
• other (please specify) ____________
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Written and “Other” Survey Results
If you do not wear a helmet, why?
• “Don’t want to carry around”
• “It is not the law.”
• “Only going a short distance”
If yes, what social media platforms do you use?
• Snapchat (5)
• Tumblr (7)
• LinkedIn (2)

If yes, with which communities are you involved?
• “The Paceline Forums, Carytown Bicycle Co.”
How do you get your news?
• “Word of mouth”
• “Printed media, small local papers (i.e. Chesterfield Observer)
• “YouTube”
• “Journals”
• “Reddit”
• “People”
If yes, with which local non-profits are you involved?
• “JDRF”
• “Ram Pantry”
• “Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation”
• “From the Heart Stitchers”
• “SPCA”
• “Glen Allen Youth Athletic Assoc., The Doorways”
• “Goochland Food Bank”
• “Special Olympics VA and JDRF”
• “Boy Scouts of America”
• “SPCA, Habitat for Humanity, ARC of Richmond, ARC of Virginia”
• “Girl Talk, character development program for young teens”
• “Planned Parenthood”
• “HAND”
• “Boy Scouts”
• “The Sierra Club, HD Advisors”
• “As Club”
• “Crossover Ministry”
• “ASPCA”
• “Feedmore”
• “Young Life”
• “Special Olympics VA”
• “Partnership From the Future”
• “Decline to Answer”
• Have you ever heard of I Am RVA? If yes, how?
• “Online”
• “A colleague was working with them”
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In which area of Richmond do you live?
• Oregon Hill (2)
• Randolph (4)
• Atlee
• Chesterfield (4)
• Hanover (4)
• West End (3)
• Forrest Hill
• Goochland
• Manchester
• Bon Air (3)
• Southside (2)
• Near Staples Mill
• Short Pump
• Greater Richmond Area: Midlothian
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