These studies seek to: understand how the BikeArlington and WALKArlington programs are currently performing; identify ways to improve the products and service delivery; measure the overall impact of TRAC’ investment in BikeArlington and WalkArlington; and establish benchmarks to assess future performance gains.
Note: The study findings detailed in this report should be viewed as directional, and not perfect census-driven data as the sample was not randomly obtained.
KEY FINDINGS – BIKEARLINGTON STUDY
Demographics:
- 64% are Arlington Residents and 93% are employed full time. The mean age is 42, 81% consider themselves White, and the mean income is $107K. 64% are male.
- Bicycle is the primary mode of commute for 40% (the next largest is Metrorail at 23%).
- 74% live at least 5 miles from their workplace. 47% live within 1 to 2 blocks of a transit stop.
Biking:
- Exercise and Enjoyment top the list of reasons to bike, but 73% commute to work with their bicycles (keep in mind that most of the respondents were procured from a Bike to Work Day list).
- Respondents bike the furthest for exercise (an average of 12 miles) and the least for errands (an average of 1.6 miles)
- Women are currently biking much less frequently than men—particularly to work.
- While most respondents generally feel fairly safe while biking, there are some that do not—and safety at night appears to be much more of a concern than during the day.
- Unsafe drivers are the primary safety concern of most cyclists.
Biking to Work:
- Of those who bike to work, 79% do so more than once a week.
- Those who bike to work are very likely to have workplace amenities that influence them to do so.
- Three-quarters of those who bike to work say that they have showers at their workplace and half of people biking to work said that the presence of showers influenced their decision to use that mode of transportation.
- Of those currently riding their bikes to work, half say that they would consider riding their bike to a Metro station and then riding their bike to work. In order to do so, however, they want connections to bike trails/lanes and secure enclosed/protected racks where they can leave their bikes.
BikeArlington Program and Impact:
- Only 51% of respondents say they have used BikeArlington and 22% say they are not even aware of it.
- 49% seldom use BikeArlington services and 8% never use them.
- Satisfaction with BikeArlington is high and many who have used BikeArlington’s services say that it has contributed to changes in their biking behavior.
- BikeArlington’s Net Promoter Score is 58.
New BikeArlington Services:
- Intent to use Cycle Tracks is high—with more than three-quarters of respondents saying that they would be likely to use them.
- Bike sharing, however, is a much less appealing program among this specific sample.
KEY FINDINGS – WALKARLINGTON STUDY
Demographics:
- 86% are Arlington Residents and 65% are employed full time. The mean age is 52,
- 80% consider themselves White, and the mean income is $98K. 65% are female.
- Drive alone is the primary mode of commute for 40% (the next largest is Metrorail at 28%). Walking is the third largest primary mode of commute at 9%.
- 66% live at least 5 miles from their workplace. 56% live within 1 to 2 blocks of a transit stop.
Walking:
- Exercise and Enjoyment top the list of reasons to walk, and only 30% commute to work by walking.
- Respondents walk the furthest for exercise (an average of 3 miles) and the least for visits to friends and family (an average of 1 mile).
- Women are more likely than men to walk but walk less frequently and are less likely to walk to work. But recall that the sample is not perfectly representative of all of those who may be walking in Arlington County. This finding should therefore be interpreted with caution.
- While most respondents generally feel fairly safe while walking during the day, there appear to be more concerns at night—particularly from women. Lighting and fear of crime are the most frequent safety issues.
WALKArlington Program and Impact:
- 75% of respondents say they have used WalkArlington and 3 say they are not aware of it. But recall that almost all of the respondents receive the Pacer Newsletter.
- 47% seldom use WalkArlington services and 12% never use them.
- Satisfaction with WalkArlington is high and many who have used WalkArlington’s services say that it has contributed to changes in their walking behavior.
- WalkArlington’s Net Promoter Score is 49.
METHODOLOGY – BIKEARLINGTON
- Mode of Data Collection – Invitations sent to Community Bike Ride and Bike to Work Day Participants
- Completed Surveys – 376 Completes; 23% response rate (61 from Bike to Work Day Crystal City; 206 from Bike to Work Day Rosslyn; 85 Responses from Community Bike Ride; 24 Other Responses)
- Survey Population – 1511 Invitations Sent (326 sent to Bike to Work Day Crystal City; 802 from Bike to Work Day Rosslyn; 383 Responses from Community Bike Ride; Link was also posted on the BikeArlington.com Web site)
- Survey Instrument – Online Questionnaire
- Criteria for Participation – By invitation or Web site visitor
METHODOLOGY – WALKARLINGTON
- Mode of Data Collection – Invitations sent to Pacer Newsletter recipients and listserv subscribers
- Completed Surveys – 170 Completes; 16% response rate; (163 Completes from Newsletter recipients; 7 Other responses)
- Survey Population – 997 Invitations Sent to Pacer Newsletter recipients; Link was also posted on the WALKArlington.com Website and sent to listserv
- Survey Instrument – Online Questionnaire
- Criteria for Participation – By invitation or Web site visitor
DOCUMENTS FOR DOWNLOAD
Technical Summary (PDF): Summary – 2008 Bike and WALKArlington STUDY
Survey Questionnaire for BikeArlington (PDF): 2008 TRAC BikeArlington Questionnaire
Data Tables for BikeArlington (PDF): 2008 TRAC BikeArlington Data Tables
Survey Questionnaire for WalkArlington (PDF): 2008 TRAC WALKArlington Questionnaire
Data Tables for WalkArlington (PDF): 2008 TRAC WALKArlington Data Tables
Contact the TRAC Research Team for more information.