Tendencies of United States Bicycle Commuters: An Analysis of the 2017 National Household Travel Survey

Approximately 1% of the total working population within the United States bikes as their primary mode of commute. Due to recent increased in bicycle facilities as well as a focus on alternative modes of transport, understanding the motivations and type of people who bike to work is important in order to encourage new users.
In this project, a literature review was completed as well as data analysis of the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) in order to find specific populations to target. Using these target populations, it is suggested that advertising and workplace encouragement occur to persuade more people to bike to work. Through data analysis it was found that the most impactful variables were the region of the country, gender, population density, and commute distance. Bicycle commuters statistically had fewer vehicles in their households and drove less miles annually.
There were five main target groups found through this analysis; people who bike for other reasons besides work and live in a city with more than 4,000 people per square mile, young professionals between 19-39, women in regions with separated bicycle facilities, those with low vehicle availability, and environmentally conscious individuals. Working to target these groups through advertising campaigns to encourage new users, as well as increasing and improving bicycle facilities, will help create more new bicyclists.