Bike commuting and the 15-minute city
Bicycling is important to the 15-minute city, because it extends the range of human-powered transportation to about three miles in that time frame. This range is especially helpful in getting to work.
A recent report by Bike Advisor shows that the top 10 US cities for bicycle commuting are mostly those that follow the “15-minute city” pattern: Portland, OR (6.3 percent); Washington, DC (5 percent); Minneapolis (3.9 percent); San Francisco (3.1 percent); New Orleans (2.9 percent); Seattle (2.8 percent); Philadelphia (2.6 percent); Tucson (2.5 percent); Oakland (2.3 percent); Denver (2.2 percent).
The pattern for states is a little more surprising, with the top states located mostly out West (see graphic at top). Oregon has the highest percentage of bicycle commuters, with nearly 2 percent. Nationally, only about a half of a percent of workers commute by bicycle. Here are some overall trends:
- Bike commuting almost doubled its fleet from 488,000 regular bike commuters in 2000 to 786,000 as of 2019, making it the third most popular transportation mode in the US.
- Bike commuting fell by 5.9% from 2010 to 2019. That’s down from a whopping 904,463 in 2014 when it peaked after almost two decades of straight increases.
- Nationwide, men make up 77% of bike commuting trips, and 23% of the bike to work trips are women. However, bike commuting seems more attractive to women in Alabama (53 percent), Maine (52 percent), and New Mexico (51 percent).
