Number of bike commuters drops slightly in 2011; City remains in Top 10

October 1, 2012 • Posted by: Michael McKisson

Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, left, and his chief of staff Andrew Greenhill ride their bikes to work during Bike to Work Week.

The percentage of bicycle commuters in Tucson declined slightly from 3 percent in 2010 t0 2.8 percent in 2011.

The slight dip is according to American Community Survey data that was released last week.

Additionally, Tucson has the seventh-highest bicycle commuting share of large American cities, dropping from the sixth spot last year. (See the list below)

It is important to remember that the ACS only interviews a fraction of the people in the community and asks very few questions about transportation.

The ACS asks respondents how they got to work most often in the last week. Meaning if a person drove three days a week and rode two, their bike use would not appear in the survey.

In 2010, the percentage of bike commuters lept from 1.9 persent in 2009 to 3 percent. City planners say the year-to-year changes are less important than the trends over time.

The ACS does not ask about recreational riding.

Below are the Top 10 large cities by bicycle commuter share:

1. Portland: 6.3%
2. Seattle: 3.5%
3. Minneapolis: 3.4%
4. San Francisco: 3.4%
5. Washington: 3.2%
6. Oakland: 3.1%
7. Tucson: 2.8%
8. Denver: 2.4%
9. New Orleans: 2.3%
10. Sacramento: 2.2%

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5 comments

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I think that being that close to SF in the number of people commuting is pretty amazing for Tucson. Well done!

Isn't that Walkup's old bike? So, what kind of a survey is it that someone could use their bike 40% of the time and it doesn't count? On October 20th (Saturday) Pete Lagerwey will be at the BAC's retreat meeting. He managed the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan. He will likely provide the cycling community some insight on what to expect from an advisory committee. He may also incorporate any specific concerns mentioned in the call to the public portion in his presentation. The 'retreat' is open to the public like any BAC meeting and starts at 9am, but I'm not sure where it will be.

Orvis

Parkwise Meeting room was where I heard the retreat was

Frank Tellez

Almost as many people ride bikes as ride the bus? That's kind of awesome. Also, how do I work from home? :)

Martha Retallick

I work from home every day. Which means that, officially, I'm not counted in the bicycle commuter statistics. However, I use the bike for most of my out-of-house trips. Or else I walk. That's transportation mode #2 around here. In distant third place, it's a tie between carpooling and taking the bus.