The Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center has published “Trends and Determinants of Cycling in the Washington D.C. Region,” written by myself and my co-authors Andrea Hamre, Dan Sonenklar, and Paul Goger.
Mobility Lab is further publishing the key findings from this report, in two parts. The first part highlighted our key findings on cycling trends and policies in the D.C. region. This blog details findings on bike commuting in the area.
- Bike parking and cyclist showers at work are associated with more bike commuting. Compared to no trip-end facilities for cyclists at work, both bike parking alone and bike parking combined with showers are related to more bike commuting. Results show that the combined supply of bike parking, clothes lockers, and cyclist showers has a statistically stronger influence on bike commuting than the provision of bike parking only.
- Free car parking at work is associated with less bike commuting. Transit commuter benefits are not a significant predictor of bike commuting. Employees are less likely to cycle to work if the employer provides free car parking – even after controlling for other factors. Reducing free car parking at work may help increase bicycle commuting – especially for shorter trip distances. The provision of commuter transit benefits neither encourages nor discourages bike commuting.
- Washington, Arlington, and Alexandria have almost tripled the length of their bicycle networks since 1995. Results of this study indicate that expansion of bikeway networks may help increase the share of bike commuters.
- Hopefully our study will help guide transport policies in the long run. For example, commuters are more likely to ride their bicycles if trip distances are short. Thus, policies that encourage denser development patterns and mixed-use development that keep trip distances short may help encourage bike commuting. Moreover, bicycle ownership appears to be an important determinant of bike commuting. D.C. and Arlington now provide Capital Bikeshare, which makes bicycles accessible to a larger group of society – including those who do not own a bike. Easier access to bikeshare bicycles may help increase bike commuting.
- Inclusive programs are needed to encourage bike commuting for all groups. Significant differences in bike commuting levels by gender, race, and income in the Washington region suggest the need for inclusive programs to encourage bike commuting for all groups. Our results indicate that a comprehensive package of policies may be most successful in encouraging a larger group of society to cycle. Trip-end facilities at work, less free car parking, and greater bikeway supply appear to be significant parts of this policy package to encourage cycling. Implementing these policies together will likely be most successful in encouraging more bicycling.
[Editor’s note: Ralph’s blog is here and the book he co-edited for MIT press, City Cycling, is here.]
Photo by Michael Schade