Poll: Bike Sharing Widely Popular After First Month (NYC)

[marmar]

(WNYC) It's been one month since NYC launched Citi Bike, the new bike sharing program, and to mark the occasion the city issued some glowing user statistics. Meanwhile, a new poll of likely voters shows New York City's new bike sharing program is widely popular in the city.

Fifty percent of New Yorkers support the new program, with just 20 percent opposing bike share, according to The Quinnipiac University poll. "Every age, income, party, gender and educational group supports the bike program," the researchers wrote.

Voters over 65 years old are the only group that doesn't want bikes in their neighborhood, with 40 percent opposed and 37 percent in favor, according to the poll.

There was some differences by race though. More white voters have made up their mind, and more support Citi Bike: 57 percent in favor, 22 percent disapprove with just 20 percent saying they don't know enough. (Compare that to these figures: Black voters: 43 percent in favor, 18 percent against, 38 percent haven't heard enough; Hispanic voters: 47 percent approve, 17 percent disapprove, 33 percent haven't heard enough). .....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/transportation-nation/2013/jun/27/evaluating-nycs-citi-bike-bike-sharing-program-poll-study/

[Gregorian]

1. That's good news coming from a country that is utterly car-centric.

It took my friends prying my hands off the steering wheel before I started commuting by bike 25 years ago. And from then on out, whether snowing or raining or dark or hot, I rode my bike.

I have to say I'm not happy about how things are now. It's so bad in the SF Bay Area that it's just like Los Angeles now. A sea of people in cars. It's a sickness.