Census Report Shows More People Bicycling to Work

 Posted on December 00,0000 in Bicycle Safety

A new report by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals there is an increase of people choosing non-motorized transportation to get to work every day. The data shows that more and more people are choosing bicycling or walking as their preferred mode of going to work. A bicyclist driving the same roads with vehicles can be put in dangerous situations when drivers do not respect the rules of sharing the road.

The report is based on data that is collected from the American Community Survey (ACS) between the years of 2008 to 2012. Approximately 3.5 million households received the survey. The survey was geared towards respondents who were 16 years or older and worked outside the home. Respondents were asked what their primary method of transportation to get to work was for the prior week.

There was an increase of 60 percent in bicycle commuters in the 50 biggest cities in the country from the year 2000. In 2000, 488,000 people rode their bike to work. But in the latest survey, 786,000 people reported bicycling as their major mode of work transportation.

The report also discovered other consistent trends in bicyclist. They include:

• More than twice as many men than women commute by bike to work;
• The average bicyclist commute is 19.3 minutes;
• People are more apt to commute to work by bike if the closer their home is to their job place;
• People between the ages of 16 to 24 years old are likely to bike to work;
• The largest rate of bicycle commuters resides in large cities.

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) has been developing the “Chicago Streets for Cycling Plan 2020” as a way to ensure people who commute by bicycles can do so safely. According to the organizers, the plan calls for “biking facilities to be in place by 2020 to provide a bicycle accommodation within half-mile of every Chicagoan.”

Currently, Chicago has approximately 200 miles of street bike lanes and 50 miles of protected bike lanes. Last year, almost 20 more miles of protected bike lanes were added and developers predict there will be another 50 miles of protected lanes installed by next year. If you have been injured in an accident caused by the negligence of another driver, contact an Orland Park personal injury attorney to find out what compensation you may be entitled to for pain and loss.