Does Cycling Make You Richer, Smarter, and Have More Kids?

Linda Ginenthal, Program Manager for the City of Portland’s Transportation Options department, and awesome BTA Board member, presented the results of surveys and focus groups on why people are not cycling. A group of about 25 people enjoyed a lively discussion inspired by Linda’s brown bag presentation at Metro today.

In January 2007, surveys were collected from 200 cyclists, 200 potential cyclists, and 200 people who are not interested in cycling. While the demographics of these groups were quite similar, the cyclists had the highest income, the most education, and the largest number of children below age 18. mmm…

Other interesting findings:

* Fewer than half of those who ride a bike do so for commuting.
* Of those who commute, there are more than twice as many men as women.
* Among non-cyclists, by far the most common ‘practical’ reason for not riding is the time it takes.
* During follow-up interviews, the greatest barrier to riding for all groups was ‘the weather’.
* Coming in at a close second among the barriers was ‘safety’.
* While men and women did not differ much on their reasons for not riding, women rated safety concerns much higher than men.

So, while the City has acknowledged that they are not the appropriate group to work on making the weather more bicycle-friendly, they are using this information to inform their efforts to help make bicycling in Portland safe, easy and convenient.

There are many recreational riders who clearly know how to ride, but may not know the safest routes to get to their destinations because all they normally experience are the busy roads, rather than designated bike routes. We need to get bike maps in their hands.

It is very common to overestimate how long it takes to cycle to a destination. At the very gentle pace of 10 miles an hour, a three mile ride takes less than 20 minutes. The green and white bike signs that are going up throughout the City will help people understand the distance and time it takes to get to common destinations.

Women need to feel safer as cyclists. Women-specific programs are one tool the City has to address this.

My favorite conclusion from all of this work is “the more people ride, the more people ride”. Or, as I understand it: “monkey-see, monkey-do”. So, do your part to get people cycling – get out there and ‘do’!