There is not yet a nationally accepted standardized method for conducting counts of bicyclists and pedestrians, and the frequency of conducting counts varies among states and cities.
There have been numerous efforts to create a more reliable means to measure travel. In 2005, Barnes and Krizek developed a formula for determining total bicycling trips by multiplying the commute share by 1.5 and adding 0.3 percent.
The National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project (NBPD), a joint effort of Alta Planning & Design and the Institute of Transportation Engineers Pedestrian and Bicycle Council, sets detailed standards and guidelines and provides tools for performing bicycle and pedestrian counts and surveys. See page 56 of the 2014 Benchmarking Report for more information on this nationwide initiative.
In order to make data-driven decisions about where to strategically improve bicycling and walking infrastructure, advocates and transportation decision makers need data about how people get around – and, specifically, where people bike and walk.
But in the United States, there’s no one single transportation survey that adequately captures what modes people use for trips. (The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey provides very useful data about work commute trips, but lacks comprehensive data about all trips.)
To ensure better data collection, many states and cities conduct their own surveys to find out their local mode share of bicycling and walking.
Types of counts
The Alliance for Biking & Walking’s 2014 Benchmarking Report surveyed states, large cities, and select mid-sized cities on the types of bicycling and walking counts they performed in 2011 and 2012. We examined three types of counts: commuter counts, household surveys, and cordon counts.
- Commuter Counts count people who bicycle or walk to work. These counts generally require an intercept survey to identify the purpose of the trip. The survey is often completed verbally by stopping travelers to ask their destination, or completed as a questionnaire on paper or online. Sometimes commuter counts are conducted by placing counters (human or mechanical) on routes that are known to be commuter heavy.
- Cordon Counts are conducted to track the number of travelers who cross a specified line into or out of a designated area, such as a neighborhood or district, that is “cordoned off.”
- Household Surveys record bicycling and walking habits of an entire household. Surveyors contact the households by phone, by mail, or online.
Biking and Walking Counts in Large Cities
Of the 52 most populous cities surveyed for the 2014 Benchmarking Report, 43 have completed counts of bicyclists, and 37 have completed counts of pedestrians.
This chart shows what types of counts those 43 cities have conducted, according to the Benchmarking survey:
Twenty-nine cities have used other methods to gather data on biking and walking trips. For example, Charlotte, North Carolina has counted the number of bicycle boardings on buses. Indianapolis counts bicyclists and pedestrians on the city’s famous greenways. Phoenix, Arizona conducts long-term, outdoor video detection. These local efforts to track mode share help decision makers and advocates understand on a deeper level who is walking and bicycling in a defined area.
This chart shows the additional counting methods that 29 large cities have used to count bicyclists and walkers:
Biking and Walking Counts in States
Thirty-eight states have conducted commuter, household, or cordon counts for bicyclists, and 36 states have done these counts for pedestrians.
Twenty-nine states reported using additional counting methods:
Biking and Walking Counts in Mid-Sized Cities
Counting bikers and walkers isn’t just a big city and statewide phenomenon. The 2014 Benchmarking Report found that many small and mid-sized cities are documenting their own mode share.
Of the 17 sample cities we surveyed, 15 conduct some type of non-motorized traffic count. All of those 15 count bicyclists; 11 include pedestrians as well. This chart shows the types of counts that these 15 cities conducted:
Data Consistency Problems & Solutions
Counts at the local and state level are great ways for advocates and public agency staff to understand who is biking and walking in defined areas. And in the aggregate, these national records of counts help us understand the extent to which state and local governments are making an effort to register pedestrians and bicyclists. It’s encouraging that more states and cities are conducting various types of biking and walking counts: it’s a sign that state and local government stakeholders understand the need to make data-driven decisions to help all people navigate transportation networks.
A key goal of the Alliance’s Benchmarking Project is to promote data collection and accessibility on bicycling and walking in the United States. Researchers hope to soon see states and cities collect non-motorized transportation data in a nationally consistent manner, enabling more completes analyses of how people travel on foot and by bicycle.
This article was written with help from Andrea Milne of the Alliance for Biking & Walking.
L.A. photo by Andrew Yun. Images from Alliance for Biking & Walking 2014 Benchmarking Report. Seattle photo by the Seattle Department of Transportation.