www.pedbikeimages.org / Dan Burden
Ever wonder how many people are biking or walking to work in Metro Detroit? How do we compare with the bike friendly cities of Chicago and Portland?
Fortunately the U.S. Census publishes statistics on how people get to work. The below numbers are from 2007, which is before gasoline hit $4 a gallon and encouraged increased bike commuting. We look forward to seeing the 2008 numbers.
Note that the Metro Detroit error margins are generally +/- 0.1%. For cities, the error margins are much larger which makes comparing these numbers somewhat precarious.
One conclusion that can be drawn is women don’t bike to work as frequently as men, but especially in some areas such as Wayne County, Southfield, and Grand Rapids. Even in more bike friendly cities like Ann Arbor, Chicago, and Portland, women workers are much less likely to bike to work. There is no corresponding gender difference among those walking to work in many of these regions (the City of Detroit is an exception). In Metro Detroit, women walk to work more often than men (1.6% vs. 1.4%).
Another conclusion: Detroit has much room for improvement compared to places like Ann Arbor, Chicago, and Portland.
| City/Region |
Total Workers
(age 16 & over) |
Walk
to work |
Bike to work |
| Overall |
Male |
Female |
| Michigan |
4,400,918 |
2.3% |
0.4% |
0.5% |
0.2% |
| Metro Detroit |
1,925,690 |
1.5% |
0.2% |
0.3% |
0.1% |
| Wayne County |
758,034 |
1.9% |
0.3% |
0.5% |
0.0% |
| Oakland County |
577,367 |
1.6% |
0.2% |
0.3% |
0.2% |
| Macomb County |
383,058 |
0.9% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
| Genesee County |
170,312 |
1.0% |
0.1% |
0.2% |
0.0% |
| Detroit |
249,970 |
2.7% |
0.3% |
0.7% |
0.0% |
| Southfield |
33,936 |
2.2% |
0.4% |
0.7% |
0.0% |
| Troy |
42,211 |
0.5% |
0.3% |
0.2% |
0.3% |
| Ann Arbor |
55,336 |
13.8% |
2.6% |
3.4% |
1.8% |
| Lansing |
52,690 |
2.5% |
0.4% |
0.5% |
0.3% |
| Grand Rapids |
90,481 |
3.6% |
1.1% |
2.0% |
0.1% |
| Traverse City region |
66,557 |
2.8% |
0.5% |
0.7% |
0.4% |
| Flint |
31,579 |
0.8% |
0.4% |
0.6% |
0.2% |
| Chicago, IL |
1,230,933 |
5.4% |
1.1% |
1.4% |
0.7% |
| Portland, OR |
280,933 |
4.4% |
3.9% |
4.9% |
2.8% |
One question we have is how does the Census Bureau count workers that use bus bike racks? Are they counted as public transit commuters, as bicyclists or both?
Copenhagenize recently highlighted snow removal from bike lanes and sidewalks in Copenhagen. It’s apparently a priority for both government and local business.
American Cycle and Fitness is expanding on their 2007 Ride to Work Day this May 14th. Rather than just one ride, they’ll have three. You can