Originally Posted by
wphamilton
Initially I thought it seemed like more than 60% increase - and looking at the ACS report, of course I was right! Most of the commuters and most of the increases occurred in denser populations, so a cyclist in or near a larger city is likely to see more than 100% increase, or 4-500% in some cases.
Apparently they counted 1,320 bicycle commuters in Atlanta (area). A tiny number considering a population of over five million in the urban area. No wonder I see a handful on the Greenway but never a one on the roads.
I'm always intrigued by the demographic dichotomies of cycling. The highest commuting rate by race were multi-racial or race not tracked by the Census (.8%). People with graduate or professional degrees had a .9%, yet people who did not finish high school were at .7%. Both higher rates than the national average. From the two ends of the spectrum, distant reasons but the same solution.
Year round bike commuters are a rare breed. Anyone who thinks the average person is going to ride a bike in a snowstorm is more delusional than the person riding the bike. I'd be surprised if any urban area in the US had more than 1% "real" bike commuters, meaning (at least to me) people who ride to work 4-5 times a week on average all year. People for whom their bike is the primary mode of transportation for getting to work.