Bicycle commuting and income

[consularrider]

Let’s see, bike commuted in my teens, twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, and now in my sixties. Income ranged from starving student to middle-class bureaucrat.

[mstone]

Bike commuting popular among those with more flexible schedules, plentiful fall-back options, and statistically greater focus on health and fitness…film at eleven.

[Arlingtonrider]

I’d skip the flexible schedule part. Driving in traffic and using public transit require flexible schedules. Bike commuting times are infinitely more predictable.

[mstone]

@Arlingtonrider 122510 wrote:

I’d skip the flexible schedule part. Driving in traffic and using public transit require flexible schedules. Bike commuting times are infinitely more predictable.

In some ways, yes, as long as you can defer things outside a point to point commute. Once you throw child care, errands, etc., into the mix in a typical auto-oriented US suburb, it’s a lot harder to bike.

[Supermau]

I’ve found that I’m more likely to be late while driving and more likely to be early while riding for what it’s worth.

[dasgeh]

@mstone 122511 wrote:

In some ways, yes, as long as you can defer things outside a point to point commute. Once you throw child care, errands, etc., into the mix in a typical auto-oriented US suburb, it’s a lot harder to bike.

Not really, it just seems harder. If I have errands to run around rush hour, taking the cargo bike is a LOT faster than a car.

[mstone]

@dasgeh 122521 wrote:

Not really, it just seems harder. If I have errands to run around rush hour, taking the cargo bike is a LOT faster than a car.

That really depends on where you are, no? You don’t live in “a typical auto-oriented US suburb”. I guarantee that for many people in the DC metro area it is more than a “seeming” challenge to bike between work, childcare, and other destinations.

[lordofthemark]

@mstone 122506 wrote:

Bike commuting popular among those with more flexible schedules, plentiful fall-back options, and statistically greater focus on health and fitness…film at eleven.

And at the other extreme, it remains very popular with folks for whom the costs of auto ownership would be a large share of their income, who live in places where the only transit option is a slow infrequent local bus, and who in some cases cannot get a drivers license.

[dasgeh]

@mstone 122524 wrote:

That really depends on where you are, no? You don’t live in “a typical auto-oriented US suburb”. I guarantee that for many people in the DC metro area it is more than a “seeming” challenge to bike between work, childcare, and other destinations.

What’s “typical”? Whether biking could be practical for a family rests on two things outside of the family’s control: distances and infrastructure. Most places (outside of Florida) have some infrastructure (at least sidewalks and neighborhood streets) that make it possible. According to this, 29% of American commutes are less than 5 miles, and over 50% are less than 10 miles. Less than 5 miles is easily done on a regular bike (with a little practice). Less than 10 on an ebike.

Of the cities that I know well (i.e. have good friends or family), an e-cargo-bike would make biking, childcare and errands possible in most. Charlotte is tough because it’s just so large, sometimes errands/activities are just really far, but for the day-to-day bikes would work. NYC is tough because of storage of a cargo bike, but it can be made to work.

[GovernorSilver]

I definitely would have bike commuted in my college years if I knew how to ride a bike back then, especially after I moved to an apartment close to the university.

I also would have bike commuted to my first couple of jobs after graduation, since they were all at locations that would have been accessible via the bike infrastructure of North County San Diego – if the bike infra had been in place back then. Apparently the bike paths, bike lanes, etc. were all installed about a couple of year after I moved to the east coast. As it was, no bike infra, so I probably would have still commuted by car back then , even if I did know how to ride a bike.

The article is interesting but not surprising – the higher earners having lagged behind the lower earners in bike usage for years, and now that more of them are riding bikes, they appear to be the “fastest growing bike commuters”. Bike-friendly workplaces and infrastructure no doubt encouraged them to try bike commuting, as well as the DC traffic we’re all familiar with.

In the Fairfax County side of Alexandria (not the “City Of” side) I see a lot more working class types on mountain bikes than kitted up riders on road bikes – the riders there tend to ride on the sidewalk due to lack of bike infrastructure – it’s either that or take one’s chances on the roads that have lots of speeding drivers.

[Steve O]

@mstone 122511 wrote:

In some ways, yes, as long as you can defer things outside a point to point commute. Once you throw child care, errands, etc., into the mix in a typical auto-oriented US suburb, it’s a lot harder to bike.

“Typical” never really applies. Each person’s circumstances are, in some way, not typical. For some, their circumstances would make it well nigh impossible; others, easy-peasy. For a lot it’s somewhere in the middle–neither impossible nor cinchy. With brainpower, planning and minor investments (much less than a car), many of these people could figure it out.

The whole child care thing is a bit of a canard. What percentage of workers have a child in child care? 15%? Less? How many days a week does someone have to run an “errand” on their way to or from work? 5 days a week? C’mon.

We all have stories. My kids are now pretty much grown up, but for years my wife and I figured out a routine with bike/metro/car/school bus that got them to day care/school/activities/home, etc. Agreed it was not as “easy” as if we both drove cars everywhere, although I suspect that may not have ended up being faster in a lot of cases–and certainly a lot more expensive.

I stop at least once a week at the Whole Foods on my commute home. It’s right on the way, so I don’t have to make a special trip with the car. And instead of waiting 10 minutes to park in the lot, I’m already in the store getting my stuff. But, again, that’s just a one-data-point anecdote.

But I’m not “typical” either. No one is. I share the view, though, that there are vast swarms of people who could, with a fairly modest effort and minor investment, figure out how to incorporate a bike into their transportation mix.

[mstone]

@dasgeh 122530 wrote:

What’s “typical”? Whether biking could be practical for a family rests on two things outside of the family’s control: distances and infrastructure. Most places (outside of Florida) have some infrastructure (at least sidewalks and neighborhood streets) that make it possible. According to this, 29% of American commutes are less than 5 miles, and over 50% are less than 10 miles. Less than 5 miles is easily done on a regular bike (with a little practice). Less than 10 on an ebike.[/quote]

Yes, I’ve seen the numbers that say that a lot of trips are short. That’s true as far as it goes, but 3 short trips to work, kids, and home is one long trip in reality. To use your numbers, most americans have a commute that’s more than five miles, ignoringthe child care or other parts of life that don’t show up in commute numbers. So I’d say that “typical” is well over 5 miles daily. If you like to bike, that’s great, but if you don’t like to bike that’s a lot of time to be on a bike.

[lordofthemark]

I am not sure what the point of this “debate” is.

According to the data presented A. Biking to work is still more common lower on the income scale. B. It is increasing for all income levels. C. It is increasing faster at the top of the income scale

Clearly there are lots of trips out there (commute and non-commute) that biking could capture, with many public policy benefits. There is still plenty of low hanging fruit in terms of diminishing obstacles – from workplace showers (a huge obstacle for many) to more seg infra, to better enforcement and education for road behavior, to more encouragement. What is the maximum mode share biking can get? I have no idea. Can we get to 90% in the USA? Since the City of Amsterdam has not gotten there, I would suggest almost certainly not. Can we get to Amsterdam and Copenhagen levels – probably not. Can Arlington and Alexandria get to the level of Portland? Maybe. Can the District get to the level of Portland? Probably. Determing the realistic levels we can reach in the next 5 years is important to local planning (like the Bike Ped Master Plan update currently underway in Alexandria) But do we need to know what the ultimate, maximum biking share could be? I don’t think so.

[lordofthemark]

@GovernorSilver 122532 wrote:

In the Fairfax County side of Alexandria (not the “City Of” side) I see a lot more working class types on mountain bikes than kitted up riders on road bikes – the riders there tend to ride on the sidewalk due to lack of bike infrastructure – it’s either that or take one’s chances on the roads that have lots of speeding drivers.

That is true of most of the less affluent pockets of FFX (I know it was true of Annandale) and is also true of parts of South Arlington. It is a demographic not well represented in biking discussions and ignored by the “antis”. Yet it is a group of riders who will benefit from new infra, and who badly need help with safety (equipment – few have lights – and education – many salmon, for example)

[mstone]

@lordofthemark 122544 wrote:

That is true of most of the less affluent pockets of FFX (I know it was true of Annandale) and is also true of parts of South Arlington. It is a demographic not well represented in biking discussions and ignored by the “antis”. Yet it is a group of riders who will benefit from new infra, and who badly need help with safety (equipment – few have lights – and education – many salmon, for example)

Yup, there’s a major social justice issue, but that’s not an argument that gets a lot of traction in Richmond.

[Author]

Posts