Blog

May 16

It's Bike to Work Month!

Posted on May 16, 2019 at 9:53 AM by Summer Anderson

San Joaquin County, Commuting by Bicycle?

Bike Month happens every May and this year, the week of the 13th to the 19th is National Bike to Work Week! On average, 870,000 people (0.6% of the U.S. workforce) report commuting to work by bicycle but most are young residents in urban communities.1 In Metropolitan cities, 1.5% of workers under the age of 25 and only 0.7% of those 45 and older, commute to work by bike.1 Outside of metropolitan areas, those numbers fall to 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively.1

In San Joaquin County, the Census Bureau estimates that we are reflective of the rest of the nation - only 0.6% of our workforce commutes by bicycle.2 And separated by gender, 0.8% of male workforce and 0.3% of the female workforce commute by bicycle.2 Instead San Joaquin County workers commute by car; 77.4% driving alone and 13.9% in a carpool. In 2016, these numbers were estimated to be 76.7% and 14.4%, respectively.2 Suggesting that fewer people are carpooling to work and more are driving alone.

The average San Joaquin County residents commute is 32 minutes when it takes the rest of the nation 26 minutes.2 If you choose to bike to work and you live within five miles of your workplace, like 50% of Americans, it should only take you 30 minutes or less to bike to your destination.3 And there are other benefits to biking: it’s cheaper and it’s a form of exercise. The average cost of maintaining a car is $3,000 annually and it’s only $300 to maintain a bicycle.3 And, the average person biking with moderate effort burns about 650 calories per hour.3

The image below breaks down how San Joaquin County commutes to work.

To encourage more bicycle commuting, events are held around the country throughout the whole month of May. In San Joaquin County, Dibs, the San Joaquin Bike Coalition, and the cities of Tracy, Stockton, Manteca, Lodi, and Escalon all partner to provide bike month events and group rides at many different locations. For a calendar of Bike Month events check out Dibs My Way and for biking related events all year, ride along with the San Joaquin Bike Coalition.

For a look at what cities bike to work more than average, check out the image below. Seven of the nations top 20 bike commuter cities are in California and number one is right to our north in Yolo County: the city of Davis, where almost 20% of commuters travel by bicycle.