Commuting Statistics

Bicycling Improves Your Health

  • Number one strategy for reducing inactivity-related diseases: shifting from auto trips to walking and bicycling [Centers for Disease Control],
  • New bicycle commuters can expect to lose 13 pounds their first year of bicycle commuting. [Bicycling Magazine]
  • Behind tobacco, leading cause of death among adults: inactivity / sedentary lifestyles [California Dept. of Health Services]

Bicycling Makes Financial Sense

  • Trimming one vehicle from your household, saves you $340/month [City of Seattle]
  • Cost to purchase and install one bike parking rack: $1503
  • Number of bikes that can be parked in one car parking space in paved lot: 6 - 203
  • Estimated cost of constructing one car parking space in a paved lot: $2,000
  • Estimated cost of constructing one car parking space in a garage: $20,000 - $30,000

Bicycling Makes Environmental Sense

  • America's cars and trucks consume 10% of world's oil supply [League of American Bicyclists ]

Bicycling is just more fun

  • 25% of the U.S. population bicycles [Omnibus Transportation Survey by Bureau of Transportation Statistics, July 2001]
  • 20% of Washingtonians rode a bicycle in 2001 [WA State Assessment of Outdoor Recreation, March 2002]
  • 60 million Americans bicycle at least once per year [Bikes Belong]
  • While in Japan 15% of commuters bicycle to work, in the Netherlands 50% of commuters bicycle and in China 77% commute by bike; only 1.6% of U.S. commuters bicycle to work [Washington State Energy Office Extension Services]

Bicycling is the fastest growing mode of transportation in our region

  • 100,000 bike boardings on Community Transit busses annually [Community Transit]
  • 500,000 bike boardings on King County Metro busses annually [King Co. Metro]
  • 66,000 bike boardings on Sounder Commuter Rail annually [Sound Transit]
  • Miles of bike trails in Seattle: 283 [City of Seattle]
  • Miles of striped bike lanes in Seattle: 15 [City of Seattle]
  • Miles of signed bike routes in Seattle: 35

Safety Matters

  • Cyclists who ride sober, with the flow of traffic, using lights at night, are 99.999% likely to survive their rides [John Hopkins]
  • 70% of adults and 50% of children in King County wear bicycle helmets - the highest rate in the nation [Harborview Medical Center]