DC bike group says fewer now riding bikes to work than in 2012 (?!?!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bike to work in DC, and I'm here to report that the number of other bikes in our office parking lot has decreased significantly since we returned to office post-COVID. Two guesses: people moved away farther and now live too far to bike to work. OR people bike on their days at home and drive in on their 1, 2, or 3 days in the office.

The most obvious reason is that cycling was a generational fad very popular with Millennials post college. However, as Millennials aged and got kids cycling got impractical. Briefly folks tried the e-bike thing, but even if you’re committed the kids outgrow them quickly. Then when your kids are in elementary school, pick up and drop off is just more practical and convenient with a car, using transit or walking.

There will always been a dedicated, but small group of bicycle commuters. But there is a reason that it’s almost always older guys without significant childcare responsibilities.

The median Millennial is now like 40 or something. Maybe they will get back to it in 10 years when they’re 50.

Millennial here. Still cycling to work. Earth is roasting. At least I'm trying to do my part.

How many children do you have and what are their ages?

I can never decide which is sillier, the "You can't use bicycles for transportation if you have children" argument or the "You can't use bicycles to transport things" argument.

So you’re not going to respond to the question which has been a central part of the discussion on this thread. Got it.

I'm not the PP you're asking these silly questions of. You are responding to multiple posters.

Plus, if this thread is about commuting to and from work, why are you even asking about children and packages?

So let’s turn to you. If you bike commute, do you have kids, how many and how old?

Why? This thread is not about me. How about you? Do you have kids? Do you pay for Amazon Prime? Do you prefer liquid soap or bar soap? How do you feel about pineapple on pizza? What was your favorite book that you read in high school? What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

If you were capable of reading instead of being ignorantly insulting, then you would have read the thread.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bike to work in DC, and I'm here to report that the number of other bikes in our office parking lot has decreased significantly since we returned to office post-COVID. Two guesses: people moved away farther and now live too far to bike to work. OR people bike on their days at home and drive in on their 1, 2, or 3 days in the office.

The most obvious reason is that cycling was a generational fad very popular with Millennials post college. However, as Millennials aged and got kids cycling got impractical. Briefly folks tried the e-bike thing, but even if you’re committed the kids outgrow them quickly. Then when your kids are in elementary school, pick up and drop off is just more practical and convenient with a car, using transit or walking.

There will always been a dedicated, but small group of bicycle commuters. But there is a reason that it’s almost always older guys without significant childcare responsibilities.

The median Millennial is now like 40 or something. Maybe they will get back to it in 10 years when they’re 50.

This post is very on point.

I would also add that with remote work and abbreviated days, spending four hours biking and showering to work. Doesn’t make sense for a four hour workday in the office.

But yeah, it’s terrible for when you have kids, it only works for people who don’t have any responsibilities at home and have no need to be anywhere in a particular time.

Also pedestrian vehicular safety has plummeted, as everyone seems to be staring at the phone while driving

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bike to work in DC, and I'm here to report that the number of other bikes in our office parking lot has decreased significantly since we returned to office post-COVID. Two guesses: people moved away farther and now live too far to bike to work. OR people bike on their days at home and drive in on their 1, 2, or 3 days in the office.

The most obvious reason is that cycling was a generational fad very popular with Millennials post college. However, as Millennials aged and got kids cycling got impractical. Briefly folks tried the e-bike thing, but even if you’re committed the kids outgrow them quickly. Then when your kids are in elementary school, pick up and drop off is just more practical and convenient with a car, using transit or walking.

There will always been a dedicated, but small group of bicycle commuters. But there is a reason that it’s almost always older guys without significant childcare responsibilities.

The median Millennial is now like 40 or something. Maybe they will get back to it in 10 years when they’re 50.

Millennial here. Still cycling to work. Earth is roasting. At least I'm trying to do my part.

How many children do you have and what are their ages?

I can never decide which is sillier, the "You can't use bicycles for transportation if you have children" argument or the "You can't use bicycles to transport things" argument.

So you’re not going to respond to the question which has been a central part of the discussion on this thread. Got it.

I'm not the PP you're asking these silly questions of. You are responding to multiple posters.

Plus, if this thread is about commuting to and from work, why are you even asking about children and packages?

So let’s turn to you. If you bike commute, do you have kids, how many and how old?

Why? This thread is not about me. How about you? Do you have kids? Do you pay for Amazon Prime? Do you prefer liquid soap or bar soap? How do you feel about pineapple on pizza? What was your favorite book that you read in high school? What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

If you were capable of reading instead of being ignorantly insulting, then you would have read the thread.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bike to work in DC, and I'm here to report that the number of other bikes in our office parking lot has decreased significantly since we returned to office post-COVID. Two guesses: people moved away farther and now live too far to bike to work. OR people bike on their days at home and drive in on their 1, 2, or 3 days in the office.

The most obvious reason is that cycling was a generational fad very popular with Millennials post college. However, as Millennials aged and got kids cycling got impractical. Briefly folks tried the e-bike thing, but even if you’re committed the kids outgrow them quickly. Then when your kids are in elementary school, pick up and drop off is just more practical and convenient with a car, using transit or walking.

There will always been a dedicated, but small group of bicycle commuters. But there is a reason that it’s almost always older guys without significant childcare responsibilities.

The median Millennial is now like 40 or something. Maybe they will get back to it in 10 years when they’re 50.

This post is very on point.

I would also add that with remote work and abbreviated days, spending four hours biking and showering to work. Doesn’t make sense for a four hour workday in the office.

But yeah, it’s terrible for when you have kids, it only works for people who don’t have any responsibilities at home and have no need to be anywhere in a particular time.

Also pedestrian vehicular safety has plummeted, as everyone seems to be staring at the phone while driving

Are you complaining that I didn't respond to factually-incorrect assertions in an off-topic post?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Washington Post goes after bike lanes:

"The city has built about 20 miles of bike lanes in the past five years, but despite that, the portion of D.C. residents who bike to work peaked in 2017 and has decreased each year since, falling from 5 percent to 3 percent. So who are these lanes for?"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/11/20/bicycle-lanes-dc-traffic/

Bike lanes are "weapons of civic planning: They are often installed not to satisfy the barely measurable trickle of residents who pedal to work but mainly to make car traffic worse enough that people will be discouraged from driving."

Very true, and also very dumb. If you make driving miserable in one neighborhood, I'll just stop going to that neighborhood. There are lots of others to choose from.

"barely measurable"

heh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out these stats from the League of American Bicyclists. They say 13,276 Washingtonians commuted to work on bike in 2023, which is less than the 13,493 who did in 2012. What's up with that? The number of bike lanes, protected and otherwise, has exploded and the numbers are down? It looks like biking to work peaked in 2017 and began declining even before the pandemic. Any good explanations of what's happening here?

https://data.bikeleague.org/data/cities-rates-of-active-commuting/

Any theories on why bike commuting is at an all time high in NYC? And in DC it's less than it was 10 years ago? What are we doing wrong?

because return to work is lower in DC. once again this is a meaningless number without a denominator.

cabi usage is a better indicator

and of course had the bikes = kitten-murder crowd not obstructed bike lanes in NW there would be a lot more commuting including by kids to JR and MacArthur.

Cabi numbers are meaningless. How do you know they aren't just stealing market share from other places that rent bikes? (I'd be pissed if I owned a bike rental shop and he city was subsidizing my competitor).

There's been a lot of bike thefts and instead of replacing them, some are just renting from now on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out these stats from the League of American Bicyclists. They say 13,276 Washingtonians commuted to work on bike in 2023, which is less than the 13,493 who did in 2012. What's up with that? The number of bike lanes, protected and otherwise, has exploded and the numbers are down? It looks like biking to work peaked in 2017 and began declining even before the pandemic. Any good explanations of what's happening here?

https://data.bikeleague.org/data/cities-rates-of-active-commuting/

Any theories on why bike commuting is at an all time high in NYC? And in DC it's less than it was 10 years ago? What are we doing wrong?

because return to work is lower in DC. once again this is a meaningless number without a denominator.

cabi usage is a better indicator

and of course had the bikes = kitten-murder crowd not obstructed bike lanes in NW there would be a lot more commuting including by kids to JR and MacArthur.

Cabi numbers are meaningless. How do you know they aren't just stealing market share from other places that rent bikes? (I'd be pissed if I owned a bike rental shop and he city was subsidizing my competitor).

There's been a lot of bike thefts and instead of replacing them, some are just renting from now on.

2/3 of the users are members and the vast majority of those rides are students with a subsidized $25 annual membership.

The other 1/3 are tourists.

So it does answer the question if you subsidize something enough someone will use it. But let’s not pretend that some sort of cycling renaissance is going on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out these stats from the League of American Bicyclists. They say 13,276 Washingtonians commuted to work on bike in 2023, which is less than the 13,493 who did in 2012. What's up with that? The number of bike lanes, protected and otherwise, has exploded and the numbers are down? It looks like biking to work peaked in 2017 and began declining even before the pandemic. Any good explanations of what's happening here?

https://data.bikeleague.org/data/cities-rates-of-active-commuting/

Any theories on why bike commuting is at an all time high in NYC? And in DC it's less than it was 10 years ago? What are we doing wrong?

because return to work is lower in DC. once again this is a meaningless number without a denominator.

cabi usage is a better indicator

and of course had the bikes = kitten-murder crowd not obstructed bike lanes in NW there would be a lot more commuting including by kids to JR and MacArthur.

Cabi numbers are meaningless. How do you know they aren't just stealing market share from other places that rent bikes? (I'd be pissed if I owned a bike rental shop and he city was subsidizing my competitor).

There's been a lot of bike thefts and instead of replacing them, some are just renting from now on.

Remind me: If someone used to their own bike every day and then their bike got stolen for the ninth time and now they just rent a bike every day, did the total number of bicyclists increase?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out these stats from the League of American Bicyclists. They say 13,276 Washingtonians commuted to work on bike in 2023, which is less than the 13,493 who did in 2012. What's up with that? The number of bike lanes, protected and otherwise, has exploded and the numbers are down? It looks like biking to work peaked in 2017 and began declining even before the pandemic. Any good explanations of what's happening here?

https://data.bikeleague.org/data/cities-rates-of-active-commuting/

Any theories on why bike commuting is at an all time high in NYC? And in DC it's less than it was 10 years ago? What are we doing wrong?

because return to work is lower in DC. once again this is a meaningless number without a denominator.

cabi usage is a better indicator

and of course had the bikes = kitten-murder crowd not obstructed bike lanes in NW there would be a lot more commuting including by kids to JR and MacArthur.

Cabi numbers are meaningless. How do you know they aren't just stealing market share from other places that rent bikes? (I'd be pissed if I owned a bike rental shop and he city was subsidizing my competitor).

There's been a lot of bike thefts and instead of replacing them, some are just renting from now on.

Isn’t it equitable that bike thieves should count as bike lane users?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out these stats from the League of American Bicyclists. They say 13,276 Washingtonians commuted to work on bike in 2023, which is less than the 13,493 who did in 2012. What's up with that? The number of bike lanes, protected and otherwise, has exploded and the numbers are down? It looks like biking to work peaked in 2017 and began declining even before the pandemic. Any good explanations of what's happening here?

https://data.bikeleague.org/data/cities-rates-of-active-commuting/

Any theories on why bike commuting is at an all time high in NYC? And in DC it's less than it was 10 years ago? What are we doing wrong?

because return to work is lower in DC. once again this is a meaningless number without a denominator.

cabi usage is a better indicator

and of course had the bikes = kitten-murder crowd not obstructed bike lanes in NW there would be a lot more commuting including by kids to JR and MacArthur.

Cabi numbers are meaningless. How do you know they aren't just stealing market share from other places that rent bikes? (I'd be pissed if I owned a bike rental shop and he city was subsidizing my competitor).

There's been a lot of bike thefts and instead of replacing them, some are just renting from now on.

Isn’t it equitable that bike thieves should count as bike lane users?

It’s funny, but I do wonder how much of the bike counters are actually just counting delivery scooters who don’t obey any traffic laws.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Washington Post goes after bike lanes:

"The city has built about 20 miles of bike lanes in the past five years, but despite that, the portion of D.C. residents who bike to work peaked in 2017 and has decreased each year since, falling from 5 percent to 3 percent. So who are these lanes for?"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/11/20/bicycle-lanes-dc-traffic/

Bike lanes are "weapons of civic planning: They are often installed not to satisfy the barely measurable trickle of residents who pedal to work but mainly to make car traffic worse enough that people will be discouraged from driving."

Very true, and also very dumb. If you make driving miserable in one neighborhood, I'll just stop going to that neighborhood. There are lots of others to choose from.

Exactly this. I have lived in the city for decades. I now refuse to drive anywhere in the city. And hell no, I am not taking the subway. I just hop in my car and drive to Maryland for on the weekends for dining, shopping and entertainment. It’s easier and a lot less stressful. I work in Virginia, so if I need anything on the days I go into the office, I pick it up on that side of the river while I’m over there.

In all seriousness, why tf would you choose to live in DC if you never actually enjoy DC??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the theory was that if we build it, they will come. The number of riders seems to be shrinking even as the number of lanes increases.

Guess that theory only works in Field of Dreams

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the theory was that if we build it, they will come. The number of riders seems to be shrinking even as the number of lanes increases.

Guess that theory only works in Field of Dreams

There is no end of these urbanist legends based on “studies” that don’t make sense and don’t actually work.

My favorite is that wearing helmets makes you less safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Washington Post goes after bike lanes:

"The city has built about 20 miles of bike lanes in the past five years, but despite that, the portion of D.C. residents who bike to work peaked in 2017 and has decreased each year since, falling from 5 percent to 3 percent. So who are these lanes for?"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/11/20/bicycle-lanes-dc-traffic/

Bike lanes are "weapons of civic planning: They are often installed not to satisfy the barely measurable trickle of residents who pedal to work but mainly to make car traffic worse enough that people will be discouraged from driving."

Very true, and also very dumb. If you make driving miserable in one neighborhood, I'll just stop going to that neighborhood. There are lots of others to choose from.

Exactly this. I have lived in the city for decades. I now refuse to drive anywhere in the city. And hell no, I am not taking the subway. I just hop in my car and drive to Maryland for on the weekends for dining, shopping and entertainment. It’s easier and a lot less stressful. I work in Virginia, so if I need anything on the days I go into the office, I pick it up on that side of the river while I’m over there.

In all seriousness, why tf would you choose to live in DC if you never actually enjoy DC??

I wonder about that, too. There are some constant posters on this forum who live in DC (or claim to live in DC) but really, really hate DC. I don't know if they're the same as the constant posters on this forum who live in Montgomery County (or claim to live in Montgomery County) but really, really hate Montgomery County.

[Anonymous]

Np. Where oh where have all the journalists gone. Sigh. Instead we have mouth breathing trolls bullying people for citations on public reports. It’s so very sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Washington Post goes after bike lanes:

"The city has built about 20 miles of bike lanes in the past five years, but despite that, the portion of D.C. residents who bike to work peaked in 2017 and has decreased each year since, falling from 5 percent to 3 percent. So who are these lanes for?"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/11/20/bicycle-lanes-dc-traffic/

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Washington Post goes after bike lanes:

"The city has built about 20 miles of bike lanes in the past five years, but despite that, the portion of D.C. residents who bike to work peaked in 2017 and has decreased each year since, falling from 5 percent to 3 percent. So who are these lanes for?"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/11/20/bicycle-lanes-dc-traffic/

+1

Says Mark Fisher from the perch of his giant SUV