Bicycling in the Delaware Valley in 2005: Use, Safety, and Demographics

Because data on bicycling is needed to help guide transportation policy and capital investment, and to evaluate their effects on bicycle usage, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission conducted its first-ever metropolitan bicycle travel survey, the most comprehensive look at bicycling ever conducted in the region and possibly the largest of its kind ever conducted in North America. The goals of the survey were to generate data on the characteristics of adult bicyclists and bicycle trips, and to ascertain bicyclists' travel behavior, attitudes and desires. This report describes the survey design and procedures; and presents the principal findings of an analysis of the data collected during the survey. Conducted in the autumn of 2005, the survey collected trip data through roadside interviews of bicyclists intercepted at pre-selected sites; and user data through the distribution of mail-back questionnaires to intercepted bicyclists, attachment to parked bicycles, and through leaders of club rides. Trip characteristics recorded included length; duration and purpose; use of multiple modes; helmet use and riding behavior; and gender of rider. User characteristics included age, race gender, and socioeconomic status; bicycle ownership; estimated monthly usage by purpose and in combination with transit; safety habits and attitudes; and facility and policy preferences. Unique to this survey, data was collected on bicyclist crash experience during the previous 12 months. Responses are tabulated for the entire sample and by travel analysis "area type" in which the bicyclists were intercepted.