@cvcalhoun 155964 wrote:
I suspect Capital Bikeshare riders have a higher percentage of females, in part because a) they are often used by tourists, who are less likely to get called home suddenly, and b) they are often used just to get to and from Metro, rather than for long rides when you have to pick stuff–or children–up. The “under 26%” figure comes from WABA.
I don’t know that women are more risk-averse. (I assume you mean more, not less.) But I suspect that biking is more risky for them. Women are more vulnerable to assault (both sexual assault, and assault just because they are on average smaller and weaker) than men are. And I long believed that drivers in general tended to honk and curse at cyclists, and often drive way too close to cyclists, who do perfectly legal things like taking the lane. But comparing notes with male cyclists suggest that they do it many times more often with women than with men.
Actually it was very few tourists (2% reported being outside the DMV)–mostly regular “members”. Which makes it all the more interesting–what is it about Bikeshare that makes it more appealing to women riders? Not disagreeing with WABA, just adding another data point.
Yes, *more.* Google turned up a few recent reports on this topic.
And yes, I’ve heard the same reports from female riders who feel bullied by motorists, simply for the fact that they appear smaller and more vulnerable. On the flip side, something else to note is the Mary Poppins Effect: that female riders who are dressed in non-cycling specific clothing have reported having better experiences with vehicular bullies.
