Bicycling

Topic

√ NY Agencies

New York City Department of Transportation (DOT)

The NYCDOT is responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining the city’s transportation infrastructure, including bike lanes, bike racks, and bike share programs. Mayor’s Management Report

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation

The NYC Parks is responsible for maintaining and improving the city’s parks and green spaces, which includes providing bike paths and trails in parks. Mayor’s Management Report

New York City Council

The City Council is responsible for passing legislation and overseeing city agencies, and has been active in promoting bike-friendly policies in recent years.

New York City Department of City Planning (DCP)

The NYC DCP is responsible for planning and zoning in the city, and works to ensure that bike infrastructure is integrated into new development projects. Mayor’s Management Report

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)

The DOHMH works to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent chronic diseases, including through initiatives to encourage biking and active transportation. Mayor’s Management Report

√ Reports

Ridership Statistics and Reports

This report is part of a comprehensive, multi-agency approach aiming to reduce bike fatalities and injuries. As cycling grows, the plan combines elements such as design, enforcement, legislation, policy, and education to improve safety for cyclists and all street users

NYC DOT Bike Data

The NYC DOT publishes bike data reports that provide detailed information on cycling trends and patterns in the city, including bike counts, crash data, and bike share usage

Safer Cycling: Bicycle Ridership and Safety in New York City

This report has identified 10 Priority Bicycle Districts—neighborhoods with high numbers of cyclist injuries and fatalities (KSI) and lacking in dedicated bicycle facilities, which suggests significant bicycle ridership in those areas

Expansion of Bike Infrastructure

NYC DOT is on track to install a record number of protected bike lanes in 2023, strengthen existing bike lanes, and launch a public awareness campaign on the safe operation of e-bikes

New York Cycling Census

A statewide survey with over 13,700 responses, this report provides insights into the motivators and barriers to bicycling across the state, with an online data dashboard detailing these findings

Ridership Statistics and Reports

NYC DOT Bike Data

The NYC DOT publishes bike data reports that provide detailed information on cycling trends and patterns in the city, including bike counts, crash data, and bike share usage

Safer Cycling: Bicycle Ridership and Safety in New York City

Expansion of Bike Infrastructure

NYC DOT is on track to install a record number of protected bike lanes in 2023, strengthen existing bike lanes, and launch a public awareness campaign on the safe operation of e-bikes

New York Cycling Census

A statewide survey with over 13,700 responses, this report provides insights into the motivators and barriers to bicycling across the state, with an online data dashboard detailing these findings

√ Data sets

New York City Open Data

The Transportation Division of the NYC Department of City Planning performs annual bike counts in Manhattan, gathering data on cyclist volumes, helmet usage, and other variables along specific bicycle routes

Department of Transportation (DOT)

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) maintains several data sets related to biking, including data on bike lane installations, bike parking, and bike share usage. The DOT also publishes an annual cycling data report that provides detailed information on bike usage trends and safety statistics.

Citi Bike Usage Maps

The Citi Bike program in New York City provides usage data that can be visualized on maps to show popular biking routes, as well as areas where there is high demand for bike share services. The Citi Bike website offers interactive maps that allow users to explore this data.

NYC DOT Data Feeds

The NYC Open Data platform hosts a catalog of public datasets and APIs, which includes regular bike counts conducted by the NYC DOT. This bike count data is summarized in the “Cycling in the City” reports, providing updates on cycling trends

Bicycle Crash Data

The NYC DOT compiles data on bicycle crashes reported by city agencies, as mandated by Local Law 13 of 2011. This dataset helps in understanding cyclist safety and changes over time

√ Data visualizations

Vision Zero View

Vision Zero View is a website that provides data on traffic fatalities and injuries in New York City, including data on cyclist fatalities and injuries. The website also provides information on traffic safety initiatives and strategies being implemented by the city.

NYC DOT Bike Lane Map

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) offers an interactive map that shows the locations of bike lanes throughout the city. This map can be used to plan bike routes and identify areas where bike infrastructure is needed.

Protected Bike Lane Tracker

The NYC Streets Plan requires the City of New York to install at least 50 miles of protected bike lanes in 2023 and 250 miles in the five years from 2022 to 2026. The administration installed 20 of out of 30 required miles in 2022. Transportation Alternatives is tracking the Adams administration’s progress.

NYC Bike Share Dashboard

The NYC Bike Share Dashboard provides data visualizations related to Citi Bike usage, including information on trips taken, average trip length, and peak usage times. This dashboard can be used to monitor bike share usage trends and identify areas where additional bikes or stations may be needed.

Cycling in the City Report

The NYC DOT provides regular bike counts and updates on cycling trends with the “Cycling in the City” report. This may include visualizations of the over 550,000 cycling trips made daily in New York City and the demographics of those who ride bikes in the city

Spatial Equity NYC

Spatial Equity NYC document inequities in the ways that public space — including streets, sidewalks, and greenspaces – is designed, distributed, and accessed.

√ STATISTICS

Miles of bike lanes

2022 DOT

Citi Bike trip record

Million in August 2023

cyclist injuries with motor vehicles

2022

Bike Rides

According to the American Community Survey, on a typical day, there are over 550,000 cycling trips made in New York City.

Adult Riders

According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) Community Health Survey 30% of adult New Yorkers (approximately 1.9 million people) ride a bike.

Bike Lanes

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has installed 1,525 lane miles of bike lanes in New York City as of 2022, including 644 miles of protected bike lanes.

Bike Crashes

According to NYC DOT data, there were 4,676 cyclist injuries with motor vehicles and 15 cyclist fatalities in New York City in 2022.

Citi Bike Rides

In August 2023, New York City set a monthly record with over 4 million Citi Bike rides, up 63 percent from 2019, and on October 28, 2023, a record-breaking 161,422 Citi Bike rides occurred, representing approximately one-quarter of the total estimated cycling trips on an average day in the city

Miles of bike lanes

2022 DOT

Citi Bike trip record

Million in August 2023

cyclist injuries with motor vehicles

2022

Bike Rides

According to the American Community Survey, on a typical day, there are over 550,000 cycling trips made in New York City.

Adult Riders

According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) Community Health Survey 30% of adult New Yorkers (approximately 1.9 million people) ride a bike.

Bike Lanes

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has installed 1,525 lane miles of bike lanes in New York City as of 2022, including 644 miles of protected bike lanes.

Bike Crashes

According to NYC DOT data, there were 4,676 cyclist injuries with motor vehicles and 15 cyclist fatalities in New York City in 2022.

Citi Bike Rides

√ Census & American Community Survey

Bike Commuting

The ACS provides data on the number of people who bike to work in New York City, as well as the percentage of commuters who use biking as their primary mode of transportation. According to the 2019 ACS, an estimated 61,000 New Yorkers commuted to work by bike, representing approximately 1.6% of all commuters in the city.

Bike Ownership

The ACS also provides data on bike ownership rates in New York City, including the percentage of households that own at least one bicycle. According to the 2019 ACS, approximately 42% of households in New York City own at least one bicycle.

Demographic Information

The ACS provides detailed demographic information on people who bike in New York City, including their age, gender, income, and race/ethnicity. For example, according to the 2019 ACS, men are more likely than women to bike to work in New York City, and white and Asian residents are more likely to bike to work than Black and Hispanic residents.

Transportation Expenses

The ACS also provides information on transportation expenses, including how much New Yorkers spend on transportation and the percentage of their income that goes toward transportation costs. According to the 2019 ACS, the median monthly transportation cost for New York City households was $194, with 15% of households spending more than $500 per month on transportation.

Bike Commuting

Bike Ownership

Demographic Information

Transportation Expenses

√ Non-Profits

Transportation Alternatives

Transportation Alternatives is a non-profit organization that advocates for safer streets, walking, and biking infrastructure in New York City. They work to educate and engage New Yorkers on the benefits of biking and active transportation, and push for policy changes that make biking safer and more accessible.

Bike New York

Bike New York is a non-profit organization that offers bike education and outreach programs in the city, including free bike education classes for adults and children, as well as bike tours and events.

Recycle-A-Bicycle

Recycle-A-Bicycle is a non-profit organization that promotes cycling as a sustainable form of transportation by offering youth and adult education programs, community outreach, and job training programs in bike mechanics.

New York Bicycling Coalition

The New York Bicycling Coalition is a statewide advocacy organization that promotes bicycling as a safe, healthy, and environmentally-friendly mode of transportation in New York State, including in New York City.

Streetopia UWS

Streetopia UWS is a community-led organization that works to create safer, more sustainable, and more equitable streets on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, including through advocacy for bike lanes and other active transportation infrastructure.

√ Experts

Janette Sadik-Khan

Janette Sadik-Khan is a former New York City transportation commissioner who oversaw the implementation of numerous bike infrastructure projects, including the city’s first protected bike lanes.

Doug Gordon

Doug Gordon is a journalist and advocate who writes about biking and transportation issues in New York City. He is the co-host of the “War on Cars” podcast and has written extensively about the need for safe and accessible bike infrastructure.

Caroline Samponaro - LYFT

Head of Transit & Micromobility Policy
Lyft. Prior to Lyft, Caroline spent 2 months at ofo, and prior to that 12 years as deputy director of Transportation Alternatives in New York City. At TransAlt, Caroline led the advocacy campaigns to bring Vision Zero to the United States, establish the country’s largest bikeshare program, Citi Bike, and set national standards for urban complete street design

Adonia Lugo

Adonia Lugo is an anthropologist and writer who has written extensively about bike culture and equity issues in transportation. She co-founded the CycLAvia open streets event in Los Angeles and has been a vocal advocate for increasing access to biking in underserved communities.

Jon Orcutt - Bike New York

Jon Orcutt has 30 years of experience shaping sustainable transportation policies. Before joining Bike New York in 2019, he was the Communications and Advocacy Director at TransitCenter, a foundation setting a national agenda for rebuilding mass transit in American cities. Jon was Director of Policy at the NYC Department of Transportation from 2007 to 2014.

√ Journal Articles

"An environmental benefit analysis of bike sharing in New York City"

To elaborate more effectively and comprehensively bike sharing’s prospective contribution to urban sustainable development, a quantitative estimation of bike sharing’s environmental benefits is performed through a case study of New York City’s bike-sharing systems.

"Evaluating the Safety Effects of Bicycle Lanes in New York City"

Our results indicate that characteristics of the built environment have a direct impact on crashes and that they should thus be controlled in studies evaluating traffic countermeasures such as bicycle lanes. To prevent crashes at intersections, we recommend installation of “bike boxes” and markings that indicate the path of bicycle lanes across intersections.

"Does bike sharing improve public health? A case study in New York City"

We focus on the Citi Bike bike-sharing program in New York City. We modify the Integrated Transport Health Impact Model and assess the net health effects by comparing a baseline scenario (with Citi Bike) against a hypothetical scenario (without Citi Bike).

"Freight in a Bicycle-Friendly City: Exploratory Analysis with New York City Open Data"

This project employs a variety of open data sets to examine how New York City’s growing bicycle infrastructure has had an impact on travel and parking conditions for commercial vehicles (CVs), and to investigate the interactions that occur between CVs and bicycles on multimodal urban streets.

"Bicyclist Crash Comparison of Mixing Zone and Fully Split Phase Signal Treatments at Intersections with Protected Bicycle Lanes in New York City"

This study builds on the success of New York City’s protected bicycle lanes (PBLs) through improving the understanding and impacts of different intersection designs. Specifically, to understand better the safety of the two primary intersection design treatments for single direction PBLs, the mixing zone and fully split phase signal.

√ Key Issues

Safety

Safety has been a major concern for people who bike in New York City, with a high number of cyclist fatalities and injuries occurring each year. This has led to calls for improved bike infrastructure, more aggressive enforcement of traffic laws, and increased education and outreach to drivers and cyclists alike.

Bike Infrastructure

The availability and quality of bike infrastructure, such as bike lanes and protected bike paths, has been a significant issue in New York City. While there has been progress in recent years, with the city adding more bike lanes and expanding bike share programs, there are still many areas where bike infrastructure is inadequate or non-existent.

Equity

There has been a growing recognition that access to safe and convenient biking infrastructure is not evenly distributed across the city, and that low-income communities and communities of color often lack access to these resources. This has led to calls for more equitable distribution of bike infrastructure and increased outreach and education efforts in underserved communities.

Bike Theft

Bike theft is a common problem in New York City, with thousands of bikes reported stolen each year. This has led to efforts to improve bike parking and security, as well as to increase awareness of bike theft prevention strategies.

Conflict with Pedestrians and Drivers

There have been instances of conflict between people who bike and other road users, such as pedestrians and drivers. This has led to calls for increased education and awareness campaigns, as well as improved enforcement of traffic laws to ensure that all road users are able to safely share the road.

√ Social Media Accounts

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TransAlt

Transportation Alternatives is a non-profit organization that advocates for better biking, walking, and public transit in New York City. Their Twitter account has over 25,000 followers and features updates on cycling news, events, and advocacy efforts in the city.

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