Biking Trips Double Since 1990

Great news from US Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood, since 1990, the number of trips made by bicycle have more than doubled! The statistic is part of the National Biking and Walking Study: a 15 Year Study Report, aimed at decreasing the number of fatalities, while increasing the number of biking and walking trips in the United States.

From 1990 to 2009, the number of bicycle trips went from 1.7 billion to 4 billion, while walking trips increased from  18 billion to 42.8 billion:

This increase in bicycle trips is a great sign for the future of bicycle infrastructure and safety in the US, and something that the Coalition works hard to promote all the time! Increasing our bicycle trips will have positive effects in the health, sustainability and community interaction throughout the country.

Along with these major increases in bicycle and pedestrian trips, comes increased funding as well. As you can see below, funding nearly doubled from 2008 to 2009, with major thanks to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for understanding the importance of these modes of transportation.

More funding for bicycles and pedestrians is great, but as you can tell from the graph, they still only make up 2% of the total transportation budget. LaHood understands and promotes these forms of transportation for many reasons, and the more of us there are on the road, the more likely we are to get more funding for better facilities and programs in the future!

Kudos to everyone that rides and walks to contribute to these benefits, and we hope to see more of you out on two wheels soon!

You can view the original post from the Transportation Secretary here.