Increasing Bike Ridership Means Pulling in Women

Posted by: Nate Berg

22 September 2009 - 10:00am

In the U.S., men bike far more than women. Some researchers suggest that understanding and meeting the demands of women is the best way to increase overall ridership.

"An emerging body of research suggests that a superior strategy to increase pedal pushing could be had by asking the perennial question: What do women want?

In the U.S., men’s cycling trips surpass women’s by at least 2:1. This ratio stands in marked contrast to cycling in European countries, where urban biking is a way of life and draws about as many women as men—sometimes more. In the Netherlands, where 27 percent of all trips are made by bike, 55 percent of all riders are women. In Germany 12 percent of all trips are on bikes, 49 percent of which are made by women."

Full Story: How to Get More Bicyclists on the Road

Source: Scientific American, September 21, 2009

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Meeting needs of cyclists

Submitted by HRPlanner on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 11:27.

I am a woman cyclist and I do not feel that this is a gender related issue. As a cyclist, all I need are safe bike lanes or roadsides to ride on and preferably a biking environment not dominated by hostile drivers.

The only problem I ever have as a cyclist related to gender is men shouting at or beeping at me from their trucks. So, that would be a matter of countering sexual street harassment.

The North American stats (US

Submitted by CoreyBurger on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 23:47.

The North American stats (US & Canadian census) numbers show that there is a large gender gap, sometimes up to 2:1 males to females. The point being made is that certain demographics are less likely to bike due to perceived risk and that surveys show that more protected facilities will help those riders get on a bike in the first place.

Protected facilities

Submitted by HRPlanner on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 09:38.

What sort of protected facilities?

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If hundreds of people in your community raised reasonable concerns about a planning program you developed, how would you respond? Perhaps you might call a community meeting, or ask community elected officials to reach out to community leaders.

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