Here are three charts showing how Minneapolis ranks compared to other cities (such as Portland, OR) in terms of bicycle commute-to-work mode share as measured by the ACS Census Data (an annual in-depth door-to-door survey).
While each of these charts use the same data, they look very different! The first is through 2011, and shows a declining trend. The second includes 2012 numbers, and is more optimistic. The third is from BikePortland and offers annual numbers which show a plateau for Portland, OR.
(Note: the ACS data has a relatively small sample size, and is thus prone to some random statistical fluctuation. Also note: I blogged about some of the differences between these counts and the Minneapolis city-wide counts last year, for the curious.)
[This second graph, which seems to use rolling averages, is from The Atlantic Citylab.]
[For good measure, another graph of the same data which is less sanguine about Portland’s ascendancy.]
Finally, I couldn’t find the 2013 numbers for some reason. If anyone has a link to those, please share in the comments!
The 2013 ACS data won’t be out until September!
Oooh I can’t wait. We’ve been building our boulevard network out quite substantially. NE Mpls almost feels like SE Portland now. I’m expecting big things.
I live in NE on the 5th st blvd and it’s like a freaking highway. I love it.
That second graph is a nightmare for someone who is mildly colorblind.
That second graph is a nightmare colorblind or not.
Why do all these counts only count “commuters”? It drives me crazy. My husband is a stay-at-home-dad and I home office and/or am flying, so neither of us has a typical “commute”. However, he’s logged 1200 miles with the kids since May on his bike, and I’m near 500. We don’t even count in these surveys. I’ve started saying running the kids to and from school is a “commute” just to be able to take part.