New Survey Finds Capital Bikeshare Members Drive Less and Save Big

(Washington, DC) Capital Bikeshare members save an average of $891 per year and collectively reduce their driving miles by 5 million per year. These are just some of the findings from an extensive report released today regarding the annual survey of members of the regional bikesharing program. The report contains detailed insight on how people are using Capital Bikeshare to get around in the District and Arlington, the impact of the program and the satisfaction of users.

The survey was administered in November and December of 2011 and received over 5,000 responses. As the largest bikesharing program in the nation, and one of the few to be in operation for longer than one year, this represents a wealth of useful information to anyone interested in urban transportation.

The survey analysis and report were performed by Lori Diggins of LDA Consulting. The resulting report and executive summary, along with other data on the Capital Bikeshare system, can be found online at www.capitalbikeshare.com/system-data .

Some of the highlights include:

• 83 percent of respondents said they were more likely to patronize a business that was Capital Bikeshare accessible
• 82 percent of respondents reported increased bike use since joining Capital Bikeshare and 70 percent said Capital Bikeshare was an important reason
• Over all Capital Bikeshare members, this translates to 5 million fewer driving miles each year
• Capital Bikeshare members saved an average of $891 annually on travel
• Capital Bikeshare was major/main factor for 56 percent who reduced car use

Lori Diggins Bio

For more than 20 years, Lori Diggins has provided consulting expertise in developing and evaluating transportation programs offered to the public, in particular assessing customers’ satisfaction with the programs and the impacts of the programs on travel behavior. She has conducted surveys on a wide range of individual transportation services, such as carshare, bikeshare, vanpool, financial incentives, ridematching, Guaranteed Ride Home, parking, and other topics. She also has led the four regional State of the Commute surveys sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments for the Washington, DC region and regional travel surveys for many other cities and states.

Lori holds an MS in Transportation from Northwestern University and a Certificate in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine Law School. She currently serves as the Chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Transportation Demand Management and previously was a member of TRB’s Survey Research Methods Committee.

Capital Bikeshare is a bikesharing program developed through a partnership between the District Department of Transportation and Arlington County and operated by Alta Bicycle Share, Inc. Capital Bikeshare offers four different membership options, Annual, Monthly, 3-Day and 24-hour for access to a fleet of 1,500 bicycles located at over 165 stations across Washington, DC and Arlington, VA.