Why Aren’t More Women Riding Citi Bikes?

[PotomacCyclist]

There should be some distinctions made between riding on a standard bike and riding on Capital Bikeshare. Fortunately that is an option for many people in our area.

The slower speeds and more stable bikes of CaBi help to make them much safer. This has been borne out by the data, with well over 10 million individual CaBi trips in over 4.5 years without a single fatality (and well over 23 million bikeshare trips nationwide without a single fatality). This means CaBi is even safer than driving or riding in a car, safer than riding a lighter personal bike, safer than walking and safer than taking transit. Most of the people killed in car crashes are drivers or car passengers. There are about 33,000 car-related deaths every year in the U.S. In 2013, there were 32,719 car-related deaths: 4,735 pedestrians, 743 cyclists, 4,381 motorcyclists and presumably the remaining 22,860 were drivers or car passengers. Zero bikeshare deaths.*

CaBi also makes it possible to take one-way trips, which would make it easier to bike in the early spring and late fall without worrying about biking home in the dark. (Most casual cyclists don’t bike commute in the winter, if the CaBi usage numbers are any indication. The regular bike commuters here can confirm that the trails are much less crowded during the winter months.) The new CaBi bike corrals near Foggy Bottom and at NY Ave. & 13th NW make it easier for all the people commuting to the downtown area to find an open dock. I think they are also using those corrals to clear out one of the Farragut Square stations more frequently during the morning rush.

I’ll have to start doing some observational counts myself, because I can’t imagine that women only make up 25 percent of evening bikeshare trips in DC. I often pass by the L Street and 15th St protected bikeways in the evenings. I also see the people headed to some of the downtown CaBi stations. A lot of the CaBi and personal bike riders that I see are women, well over 25 percent, if I had to guess. On some days, it seems like a majority of the bike commuters I see are women. Maybe that’s just my perception. I’ll make an effort to do a few counts on various days. It won’t be a scientific survey by any stretch, but it can provide some limited data.

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* http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/data/factsheet_crash.cfm
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/motorcycles/fatalityfacts/motorcycles
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/general-statistics/fatalityfacts/state-by-state-overview
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/12/us-usa-transportation-bikes-idUSKBN0GC10T20140812
https://www.capitalbikeshare.com/news/2015/06/04/10-million-trips-and-counting

Also note that only about 20 percent of bikeshare users wear helmets, but there have been no fatalities and very few head injuries. Actually, I’ve never heard of a single serious head injury reported for a CaBi rider. Helmets do help in certain types of crashes, but clearly there are other factors that are far more important for safety. The numbers bear this out. This may not apply as much to non-CaBi cyclists though.

[dplasters]

@cvcalhoun 120097 wrote:

Some reasons why women bike less:

• Women are more concerned about biking after dark, due to safety concerns. This affects not only actual biking after dark, but biking during the day if the trip home might require biking after dark.
• Women get more harassment on the streets. This includes both obvious things like catcalls and even physical attacks, and less obvious things like male drivers1/ “explaining” that what they are doing is all wrong, even when it isn’t. The “explaining” often includes yelling and cursing, which tends to make the trip less pleasant.

1 – Is this after dark thing a trail usage issue? Dark/non populated trails? I’m trying to imagine how you would really be unsafe in the middle of the street moving along with traffic (I don’t understand the issue at all, so I apologize if this is offensively obvious). Perhaps a partial solution is a different route when it is dark?

2 – Its unfortunate that the cat-calling has a cycling equivalent. I was unaware.

I will continue to dream of the day I’m shoaled by a cargo bike on 29 in Fairfax.

Posted by a young white male just trying to understand. He has a wife too!

[cvcalhoun]

@dkel 120117 wrote:

There. Fixed.

The other thing is, all women are expected by at least someone to have primary responsibility for housework, and for children if there are any. It may not be their own family. But the day care or the school is likely to call the mother, not the father, if the kid is sick — even if you tell them the father is a stay-at-home father, or has a more flexible schedule. If the kids arrive without their homework, badly dressed, etc., the mother is more likely than the father to be blamed. And if the house is messy when guests arrive, they are far more likely to blame the wife than the husband. (Believe me, having been a partner in a large law firm while then husband worked a much less demanding job, I have lots of experience with this!)

[dkel]

Which is why it was somewhat insulting for my kids’ preschool teacher to invite me to stay after class and visit with “the other moms.” Cuts both ways.

[cvcalhoun]

@dplasters 120140 wrote:

1 – Is this after dark thing a trail usage issue? Dark/non populated trails? I’m trying to imagine how you would really be unsafe in the middle of the street moving along with traffic (I don’t understand the issue at all, so I apologize if this is offensively obvious). Perhaps a partial solution is a different route when it is dark?

2 – Its unfortunate that the cat-calling has a cycling equivalent. I was unaware.

I will continue to dream of the day I’m shoaled by a cargo bike on 29 in Fairfax.

Posted by a young white male just trying to understand. He has a wife too!

Yes, alas, women are much more likely to be nervous about being out alone after dark (even in their own neighborhoods) than men. This applies to biking, walking, or pretty much anything other than being locked into a big metal cage.

I am not one of those women. But I have a wife, too, and she goes bananas when I’m out after dark. And I’m 5’9″, and nearly 200 lbs. For the average woman, who is smaller than the average man, it’s even more of a concern.

Part of the issue is that women are taught early on that not only are they more vulnerable than men, but that they will be blamed if they get raped and have failed to take every precaution, no matter how ridiculous, that might have prevented it. I won’t even express my views on that issue, because I’d probably use language inappropriate for this forum.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/05/28/this-is-how-women-feel-about-walking-alone-at-night-in-their-own-neighborhoods/

[cvcalhoun]

@dkel 120152 wrote:

Which is why it was somewhat insulting for my kids’ preschool teacher to invite me to stay after class and visit with “the other moms.” Cuts both ways.

Trust me, you’re preaching to the choir here!

[Rockford10]

I was an associate at a very large law firm and am partner at a (normal sized) law firm and my husband has a job with a more flexible schedule then mine. I drive more and bike less to work than he does for many reasons. Mostly it’s because I have to go to work events that I (feel like I should) drive to: lunch today in Crystal City, early breakfast Friday morning in Tysons and I need to do my hair and makeup. Sometimes its because I’m worried I will get a call from the mountain biking camp at Lake Fairfax to pick up a kid because he fell and broke his arm. I don’t ever decline to ride because I need to clean the house or get groceries or because I’m anxious that my house is dirty and food-free.

I’m not afraid to ride on most streets around here and I’ve gotten over my fear of riding in the dark. I don’t like snow/ice riding, but I promise I’ll try harder not to cry the next time ice or slush appear.

I am not worried I will be attacked while out riding; at least not anymore than when I would worry about safety while walking to my car or driving down the road.

TL; DR.

All that said, the reason why I did not ride a Citi Bike in New York when I was there in March is because the battery on the kiosk thingy was dead. I really, really, really wanted to ride in the snowstorm and was thwarted at every move.

[Anonymous]

@dplasters 120140 wrote:

1 – Is this after dark thing a trail usage issue? Dark/non populated trails? I’m trying to imagine how you would really be unsafe in the middle of the street moving along with traffic (I don’t understand the issue at all, so I apologize if this is offensively obvious). Perhaps a partial solution is a different route when it is dark?

I will probably go to a yoga class this evening in old town alexandria. When I leave at 9:30pm, I will have a choice of riding on still-busy with relatively fast-moving car traffic Washington Street or a block or more over on one of the completely deserted side streets. For about a mile. Then I get the choice of completely deserted and unlit mount vernon trail, or an also completely deserted (though somewhat lit) pedestrian bridge across the beltway, followed by riding on the shoulder of a road that, at that time of night, will have sporadic but fast-moving car traffic and also completely unlit shoulders/sidewalk/sidepath with zero pedestrian presence. Perhaps not “deserted” in that there is some car traffic on the road, but it’s also not exactly what you’d call a bustling urban area with plenty of people to see what’s going on.

The only other option is Richmond Highway. While I have, on occasion, ridden my bike on Richmond highway, I will not do so at night(1), nor will I do so on the section that crosses over the beltway(2).

“Bustling active street with plenty of activity but not a suburban speedway deathtrap” is not an available alternative. I’m not particularly timid about being out alone after dark, but there have still been occasions I’ve encountered someone behaving in an odd or unexpected manner(3) and I’ve been very aware that I was completely alone except for this person. I am all of 5’1″ and do not exactly project what you might call an intimidating physical presence.

(1) I don’t believe a driver will pick out my lights as being distinctly “bike” and “slow-moving” until they are already running over me
(2)what with having to deal with the on-ramp/off-ramp lanes and high-speed traffic coming off/on the beltway
(3) example: the time I was waiting to cross the street to get to said pedestrian bridge and a guy on the other side of the street was waiting as if to cross to my side. Only when the light changed he didn’t cross. And after I did, and headed down the bridge, he turned around and followed behind me.

[PotomacCyclist]

Citi Bike has had a lot more software issues than Capital Bikeshare has ever had. Bixi tried to buy out their software partner, 8D, a few years ago. When 8D refused, they left Bixi. Fortunately Capital Bikeshare started when the 8D software was still being used.

But Citi Bike and Chicago’s Divvy bikeshare system both got stuck with the new software that Bixi put together (or obtained). That software was deeply flawed, causing many data and station issues. The website and Spotcycle would not offer accurate bike, station or account info on many occasions, according to what I’ve read. It was bad enough that NYC and Chicago withheld a substantial amount of money from Bixi. This led to the cash crunch that eventually forced Bixi to file for bankruptcy.

The new bikeshare operator, Motivate, has replaced the flawed Bixi software, so hopefully Citi Bike no longer has the serious software issues that it had in the past.

[kwarkentien]

I can attest to the software issues. I had a lot of trouble back in December.

[PotomacCyclist]

A limited data set from today:

I watched the intersection of 17th & L Streets NW, from about 6:10 pm to 6:35 pm. This is close to the center of a primary business district. The L Street protected bikeway is there. There are a lot of cyclists there, especially at peak hours. I also watched long enough so that there would be more than just a few cyclists passing by.

I saw about 129 cyclists (including a couple people I saw getting bikes from a nearby CaBi station and a couple people walking with bike helmets who appeared to be getting ready to ride).

87 men – 67.4%
42 women – 32.6%

I would have thought the numbers would be closer to 50/50, but I guess not.

This was a regular weekday, not part of a holiday week. It was hot but within a normal range for mid-July in DC. There were possible thunderstorms in the forecast, but that is also normal for July in DC. I didn’t see any rain in DC during the evening rush.

I’ll try this again a few more times. Maybe not this week. I’ll see if the numbers change from day to day or week to week.

Most of the riders were on personal bikes, not CaBi. That makes sense because the CaBi stations run out of bikes pretty quickly on weekday evenings in downtown DC.

[dplasters]

@Amalitza 120159 wrote:

I will probably go to a yoga class this evening in old town alexandria. When I leave at 9:30pm, I will have a choice of riding on still-busy with relatively fast-moving car traffic Washington Street or a block or more over on one of the completely deserted side streets. For about a mile.

(1) I don’t believe a driver will pick out my lights as being distinctly “bike” and “slow-moving” until they are already running over me
(2)what with having to deal with the on-ramp/off-ramp lanes and high-speed traffic coming off/on the beltway
(3) example: the time I was waiting to cross the street to get to said pedestrian bridge and a guy on the other side of the street was waiting as if to cross to my side. Only when the light changed he didn’t cross. And after I did, and headed down the bridge, he turned around and followed behind me.

I think that very few people, regardless of gender, would make this trip by bike. Night time or not. Clearly, another route isn’t an option here. Better infrastructure gets us halfway to a solution. Individuals, regardless of gender could make the trip by day.

But bike lanes don’t make streets non-deserted and they don’t stop you from thinking about someone grabbing your handlebars at a light. When the 2nd half of the problem is “I can’t feel safe going out at night unless I lock myself in a metal cage” that is, to me, the real issue.

[DCLiz]

The New York Times article says, “Citi Bike’s gender gap is part of a broader pattern among cyclists across the country; bike-share systems in Chicago and Washington also have more male riders” but doesn’t cite a source. I’m curious if CaBi releases any data with this sort of information, perhaps from their annual rider survey.

I would suspect we have more female ridership in DC due to better cycling infrastructure (I feel comfortable commuting to work because I can ride on safe on-street and protected lanes the whole way) and programs like Women & Bicycling.

[cvcalhoun]

@Rockford10 120158 wrote:

I was an associate at a very large law firm and am partner at a (normal sized) law firm and my husband has a job with a more flexible schedule then mine. I drive more and bike less to work than he does for many reasons… Sometimes its because I’m worried I will get a call from the mountain biking camp at Lake Fairfax to pick up a kid because he fell and broke his arm.

This confirms my previous statement that part of the problem is that women are expected to be more involved in child-rearing. Even though your husband “has a more flexible schedule” than yours, he apparently can bike to work unconcerned about “a call from the mountain biking camp at Lake Fairfax to pick up a kid because he fell and broke his arm.” I would assume that this is because if the camp calls about such a thing, they will call you, not him.

[dkel]

@cvcalhoun 120744 wrote:

This confirms my previous statement that part of the problem is that women are expected to be more involved in child-rearing. Even though your husband “has a more flexible schedule” than yours, he apparently can bike to work unconcerned about “a call from the mountain biking camp at Lake Fairfax to pick up a kid because he fell and broke his arm.” I would assume that this is because if the camp calls about such a thing, they will call you, not him.

You assume too much about Rockford and me.

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