Article, "Who Bikes in Chicago? It’s Not Just Privileged Urbanites"

Bike commuters are over-represented among people who make $10,000 to $25,000, as well as people who make more than $75k. This matches up with findings from the Active Transportation Alliance, using older but more fine-grained data.

http://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/November-2015/Who-Bikes-in-Chic...

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Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on November 4, 2015 at 9:19am

Cool - go Tony!

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on November 4, 2015 at 4:56am

Attached is a 1991 bike map of Chicago just to show how far we've come.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on November 4, 2015 at 5:17am

Thanks for sharing Gene. I was one of those 70s kids that rode my bike everywhere (my first bike was also a banana-seat Huffy). It wasn't just transportation, it was freedom and wind in my hair and the best feeling. I've moved past the banana seat but I still feel that way.  

Great to see so many people riding their bikes and it doesn't matter what their income. Bikes equal happiness. Yay bikes! :-)

Permalink Reply by Felipe Iniguez on November 4, 2015 at 8:21am
After a night of partying, I was heading to my home near Midway going southwest on Archer around 4-5am(bad, I know). As I passed the Brighton Park neighborhood, I remember counting about 6-7 cyclists going northeast on Archer! I don't commute on Archer anymore but when I did, seeing 6-7 riders during rush hour was a lot.
They had the prototypical look of an "invisible cyclist": big mountain bike, older Hispanic men, chains wrapped around top tube, and some were riding on the sidewalk. I also saw that some of them turned north on Kedzie and Western. I can only speculate that they were headed towards their jobs near Little Village.
I immediately regretted not turning around and talking to one of them. There are more non-white, priveleged commuters than you think; just gotta look for them.
Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on November 4, 2015 at 12:01pm

Wow.  I live in Brighton Park and know Archer well.  No way I'd be on there at that hour.  It's bad enough at 10 p.m.!

Permalink Reply by Eli on November 4, 2015 at 8:46am

What a strangely-worded headline. Surely anyone who bikes in Chicago is an "urbanite." Or are low-income people somehow less urban than more privileged people?

That said, it's nice to see these data brought up again. They're important in pushing back against the too-common canard that red-light and speed camera fines are "regressive," and in pointing out that drivers are more privileged on average than the population as a whole.

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on November 4, 2015 at 9:10am

Well put.  I've never understood the whole "elite cyclist" concept, you can buy a working bicycle for the equivalent of a single year's City vehicle sticker (and for less than one month's worth of car insurance).

Permalink Reply by This PBL dosnt make me feel safe on November 4, 2015 at 9:16am

(Chainlinkers literally shocked that most people ride bikes for transport because they are poor or DUI).

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on November 4, 2015 at 9:21am

I don't think anyone is really "shocked" so much as happy to hear a myth about cyclists has been proven incorrect. I love that bikes can be everything from $1-200 used all the way to over $10k and no matter what the price point, that bike will most likely make the owner very happy. 

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on November 4, 2015 at 10:44am

Bingo. 

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