New survey results highlight key obstacles to bike ridership

By Bill Holloway
A new survey commissioned by People for Bikes finds that, along with concerns about infrastructure and cars, equity-related issues loom large among the obstacles to higher bike ridership. Among the more than 16,000 people surveyed, 48 percent lived in a household without an operational bicycle. Additionally, about a third of respondents, both riders and non-riders alike, were concerned about personal safety issues, such as being mugged, when riding a bike in their area. Non-white respondents and those with annual incomes below $40,000 were particularly concerned about their personal safety while biking. These results highlight the need for planners and policymakers to broaden their efforts beyond infrastructure and traffic safety improvements to address inequity in access to active transportation.
Bill Holloway is a Transportation Policy Analyst at SSTI.