This report is a biennial update on national trends related to walking and biking across the United States, active transportation participation, safety, infrastructure, policy, and funding support. This report is intended to promote access to data, measure progress, support policy and advocacy efforts, and connect to health initiatives.
Results:
- Youth (under age 16) make up 21% of the population, but take 17% of walking trips and 39% of biking trips.
- Student active commutes have seen steady growth over the past few years. In 2007, 11.9% of students walked to school and 15.4% walked home, and in 2013 15.2% students walked to school and 18.4% walked home. Participation in biking to school dropped between 2007 and 2009, but there has been a slow rise to 2.2% biking to school from 2009 to 2013. There has been some mode shift from school bus to private vehicles.
- Safe Routes to School programming is one of the key “input” benchmarks shown to influence walking, bicycling, health, and safety.
Methods:
- The report covers all states and the 50 most populous cities. The report synthesizes national datasets with results from a survey completed by transportation, planning, and advocacy representatives at state and city levels in late 2014 to early 2015.
Alliance for Biking and Walking. (2016). Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2016 Benchmarking Report.
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