Breaking Down the Demographics of Bicycle Commuters

Taz Loomans of Blooming Rock discussed race and cyclists in a recent post, responding to a new report by the League of American Bicyclists regarding equity and bicycle commuting. Loomans describes two types of bicycle commuters, those who want to and those who have to. Indeed, the League of American Bicyclists found that, "immigrants are twice as likely as US-born Americans to travel by bicycle. Those earning less than $35,000 and living in dense residential areas are more than 10 times as likely to travel by bike."

In another post responding to these new findings from the League of American Bicyclists, Shaun Courtney of Urbanful referenced a study by American University, "based on two surveys conducted in 2012 and 2013 of 260 commuters from Washington, D.C.’s Wards 7 and 8–which are more than 94% African American and among the poorest areas in the city. They found that among the chief concerns keeping those commuters from using bikes were safety, poor infrastructure and distance."

Courtney supports Loomans's argument, that "bike advocacy has thus far focused on people who ride by choice, appealing to people’s concerns about health and the environment. But the League of American Bicyclists realized that this approach is incomplete and needs to be revamped to address the 'new majority'. The new majority is 'the new majority that elected a president — youth, women and people of color.'"