Skip to main content

New York sees a boom in cycling

According to New York City Department of Transportation’s (NYC DOT) 2016 Cycling in the City brief, New York City has seen a recent dramatic increase in cycling, with the claim that the city has seen a 320 per cent increase in daily cycling between 1990 and 2014 and a 68 per cent growth in daily cycling between 2010 and 2014. The brief uses data collected by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) as part of its annual Community Health Survey, where 25 per cent of adult New Yorkers (almost 1.
May 10, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
According to 5590 New York City Department of Transportation’s (NYC DOT) 2016 Cycling in the City brief, New York City has seen a recent dramatic increase in cycling, with the claim that the city has seen a 320 per cent increase in daily cycling between 1990 and 2014 and a 68 per cent growth in daily cycling between 2010 and 2014.

The brief uses data collected by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) as part of its annual Community Health Survey, where 25 per cent of adult New Yorkers (almost 1.6 million) reported riding a bike at least once in the last year, and 12 per cent (778,000) rode at least several times a month, a number that has expanded by 49 per cent since 2009.

It claims that this growth has also contributed to safer cycling: data show that the risk to New York City cyclists of a serious injury or fatality has been reduced 72 per cent over the last fifteen years.

City officials claim this is mainly due to the efforts made to expand the city’s bicycle infrastructure since the mid-1990s, when NYC DOT established a bicycle program to oversee development of the city’s cycle network.

Since then, NYC DOT has built a cycle network that serves an ever-growing number of New Yorkers and, since 2010 has expanded and enhanced the on-street bike network by nearly 300 miles, including more than 40 protected lane miles, with a record 12 miles installed in 2015. The report indicated that NYC DOT is on track to install even more protected lanes in 2016, with over 15 new miles planned.

Brooklyn has seen the greatest percentage growth in cycling; between 2010 and 2014, cycle commutes increased by 75 per cent, from 10,494 to 18,317. In the same period, cycle commuters in Manhattan increased by 68 per cent, from 8,997 to 15,088, alongside Queens which also saw a 68 per cent increase from 3,764 to 6,342.

Meanwhile, the city’s bike share program, Citi Bike, saw a 23 per cent growth in daily use between 2014 and 2015, from 22,172 in 2010 to 27,287 in 2014. According to CEO and President of Motivate, which operates Citi Bike, the company plans to expand into new neighbourhoods, growing to 12,000 bikes by the end of 2017.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • TomTom helping New York State fleet operators reduce fuel costs
    September 14, 2012
    TomTom Business Solutions, supplier of GPS and fleet management solutions, has announced an incentive program in conjunction with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to help New York commercial and government fleet operators improve fleet productivity and fuel efficiency. In partnership with the New York State Department of Transportation, NYSERDA is providing US$250,000 in funding toward this program which allows participating New York State businesses to receive special
  • London’s cycle superhighways get the go ahead
    February 5, 2015
    London’s streets will become more accessible for cyclists now that the Transport for London (TfL) Board has approved plans for the construction of four new cycle superhighways and upgrades to the four existing cycle superhighway routes as part of the Mayor’s Cycling Vision. The schemes, which will cost around US$243 million to deliver between now and the end of 2016, will help treble the number of cycle journeys made over the next ten years and transform London’s streets and spaces to places where cyclis
  • London’s Santander cycles to be fitted with cyclist safety lights
    December 21, 2015
    After a successful trial, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, Transport for London (TfL), and Santander UK have announced that all 11,500 Santander Cycles will be fitted with Blaze Laserlights over time from early 2016. The project is largely funded by Santander UK as part of the partnership with TfL. The Blaze Laserlight projects the symbol of a bicycle shape six metres in front of the cycle, onto the ground, giving the cyclist a larger footprint on the road. This makes their presence known, alerts driv
  • Vendor's eye view of US economic stimulus programme
    March 12, 2012
    Pete Goldin explores the impact of the US economic stimulus programme on the ITS industry from the ITS vendor perspective