The League of American Bicyclists released an analysis of the Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey earlier this week. The last numbers I looked at, for 2008 listed Providence with 1.2% of commuters using bicycles as their primary means of transportation, so with this edition, seems to be an increase. Since the survey is largely compiled using statistical methods and a low number of survey respondents the error margins are pretty high at about +/-0.5%, but that’s lower than the margin suggested in 2008 of +/-0.7%.
Full Data and better explanation of the limitations of the the ACS data can be found on the League’s blog post, full data for 2010 is available, as is a data sheet of the 70 largest US cities over the last decade. Alas, no city in Rhode Island is in the 70 largest.
Apparently, even without State or Cities investing or expanding cycling infrastructure, more people are riding. Perhaps now we can argue more easily that spending 1.5% of federal surface transportation dollars on making 2% of road users safer is a good investment.
City State Population Total Workers Percentage of Bicycle Commuters Number of Bike Commuters Bike Commuters Margin of Error Percent of bike commuters who are female Female Bicycle Estimate Female Bicycle Margin of Error Percent of bike commuters who are male Male Bicycle Estimate Male Bicycle Margin of Error USA USA 309,349,689 136,941,010 0.53% 731,286 15556 26% 193100 7156 74% 538186 13372
Cranston Rhode Island 80,424 35,793 0.8% 274 294 77% 210 275 23% 64 109 Pawtucket Rhode Island 71,204 31,761 1.2% 384 343 12% 45 74 88% 339 338 Providence Rhode Island 178,162 70,344 2.0% 1,422 672 16% 228 237 84% 1194 675
And just think what those numbers would be if you trained the drivers, fixed the roads and TRIED to get folks out of their cars.
Dodging other bicyclists has never been an issue around here, not even on bike paths (or should you call them dog walks?), except peak recreational hours on sunny weekends. Dodging motorists and figuring safe routes is too challenging for most cyclists who prefer commuting by bike less than recreating, even though a regular, repeated 5 to 15 miler is what their doctors want. RIPTA has cut service, too, especially at night.
Automotive "convenience" clearly wins for all but the sensible, who realize there's none at all (long waits for service, months of earnings to support addiction, roadside breakdowns despite precautions… who can anticipate ruinous potholes?). You know, there are engineers and scientists who can increase reliability, but, like medicine, pushing the state-of-the-art doesn't translate to ham-fisted technicians, who unravel all these advancements just to profit. Cost me $1000 to pass state inspection on a new car with only 25,000 miles. Iway? They ought to fix existing roads first.
Monday, I fixed a metal debris puncture (right through kevlar belting and Mr. Tuffy!) in 15 minutes and rode my bike home. Cost? $8.50 (CO2 cartridge and tube).