DC Ranks 5th for Bike Commuting!
September 27th, 2011 | 
Author: According to newly released US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data, in 2010, DC’s percentage of bike commuters rose to 3.1% of all commuters! With this increase, we now rank 5th among the 70 largest cities in the US. This is an unprecedented 44% increase over 2009′s rate (2.2%) and a 169% increase over the past ten years. Currently, only the cities of Portland (6.0%), Seattle (3.6%), San Francisco (3.5%) and Minneapolis (3.5%) rank above DC.
A solid year of growth in the bicycle commuting rate as represented in the ACS data is a testament to the region’s commitment to bicycling as a primary mode of transportation for residents. It also underlines the ever-present need to expand our bicycle infrastructure, develop and grow innovative programs like Capital Bikeshare, improve enforcement and encourage new populations to ride bicycles.
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@Adam L: I agree w/ you - I actually do a combination car/bike commute (I have a folding bike I keep in my trunk), so I'm not sure whether I count as a bike commuter or not in these statistics, even though I do ride a lot.
The 44% number reported here is not statistically valid. Taking the margins of error from 2009 to 2010 into account, there is actually not a statistically significant change year-over-year. Please be cautious in reporting ACS numbers, as I've seen many well-intentioned folks burned reporting big changes when really the data actually doesn't support it.
The ACS data is great for commuting trips but better data are needed for bike use in general. I don't ride a bike to work, opting for public transportation instead, but biking has become a primary method of getting around for all other trips!
Actually, the ACS data is from earlier in the 2010 and doesn't take into account the growth of commuting attributed to bikeshare. We expect similarly large jump next year when bikeshare users are taken into account.
I don't see the clear statistical connection between these commuting statistics and the BikeShare program. Is there any hard data, or even a survey of bikeshare clients, that can make the hard connection...or at least a slightly harder connection.