Today, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) confirmed what people who bike in our gorgeous city feel every day: Biking in San Francisco is more popular than ever.
Since 2006, the number of trips taken by bike rose by 184 percent. Between 2014 and 2015, that number increased by over 200,000, from 2.438 million to 2.644 million — a one-year increase of 8.5 percent.
“It is vital that we build on this momentum. All SF neighborhoods should benefit from safe, inviting streets, which will welcome all of our city’s diverse communities to biking,” said Margaret McCarthy, Interim Executive Director of the SF Bicycle Coalition. “When more people can embrace active transportation, it makes our city a safer, healthier place for everyone.”
This incredible rise in the number of people biking here is a testament to the dedication of our members. We know that this increase is due to years of successful, hard-fought grassroots campaigns, powered by our members. By participating in member-driven committees, speaking at city hearings, and making your voices heard in letters and petitions, our members have consistently advocated for more and better bike lanes in San Francisco.
We’re seeing the results of that advocacy and the hard work of the SFMTA in this incredible surge in biking. With members’ support, we offer free classes for people of all ages to learn how to bike, and to do so safely. We increase access to biking as an affordable transportation option through our Community Bike Builds program. And we consistently advocate for the data-driven policies and safer streets that everyone, in every neighborhood of our city, deserves.
We do all of this thanks to our members, who support our programs generously, with time and resources. Thank you, and congratulations for being a part of making bicycling in San Francisco more and more popular.
Today is a day to celebrate, but people who bike in San Francisco know that work remains to realize our city’s potential for offering the fun and freedom of biking to even more people. City leaders can and should do more to make sure that San Francisco keeps up with the demand for increased bike infrastructure in every district and every neighborhood.
If you’re not a member, now is a great time to join. As the popularity of biking skyrockets, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is here to see that improvements are made across our city that will serve the increasing number of people biking. Please take a moment to celebrate this historic day by becoming a member now or making a gift to support our work.
