5 ms·

It's interesting to see that the average earnings of people who bike to work are increasing so much faster than the other groups. There's a stereotype that peo

by dkarl 10y ago

It's interesting to see that the average earnings of people who bike to work are increasing so much faster than the other groups. There's a stereotype that people who bike for transportation are just rich spoiled white liberals. I have no idea where it came from, and I'm pretty sure that historically it has been the opposite of the truth, but it's used as a political weapon by people on both ends of the political spectrum to argue against investments in bike-friendly infrastructure. People on the right stereotype cycling as a snotty badge of childless affluence and liberal virtue. On the left there's obviously a lot of support for bike infrastructure, but there are also public transit zealots who paint bike infrastructure as a perk that white gentrifiers award themselves, basically using the logic that public transit = diverse and good, cycling = rich and white and bad, therefore it's regressive to spend scarce alternative transit money on cycling. The common thread on left and right is the assumption that biking as transportation is an activity of the affluent and educated. I've always wondered if a social stereotype that is so widely held across different groups in society can avoid becoming true. Maybe the rise of the average of wages of people who bike to work shows the stereotype taking effect by inducing more and more well-off people to see biking to work as an appropriate activity for someone like them.

saddestcatever 10y ago
Keep in mind - Real Estate prices are a driving factor in this stereotype. Biking to work is cheap. Living close enough to work that you can comfortably bike is often expensive (especially for families/households).
Nimitz14 10y ago
It's true. Go to Europe, poor people ride the bus the better-off use a bike. I think it'd have to do because of things like getting a bike requiring a larger initial capital investment, plus there's the danger of it being stolen (which is smaller if you live in a nicer neighborhood).
- InitialLastName 10y ago
  This raises a funny distinction between the US and Europe... Outside of urban areas of the US, almost everybody drives cars, which are MUCH larger capital investments (and a larger long-term expense) than bicycles, regardless of income level.
- dkarl 10y ago
  Go to Europe, poor people ride the bus the better-off use a bike. This was my impression from the United States, too, but then numbers made me look again, and I started to notice a lot of people who didn't fit my assumptions. The image that makes me think "bike commuter" is someone briskly riding a practical, efficient bike with a laptop bag of some kind, so I was ignoring a lot of other people who are often not carrying anything, not riding very fast, riding an ill-fitting bike or one not particularly suited for commuting. It never occurred to me that those people might be riding to work.
  - krakensden 10y ago
    The DUI commute.
- usrusr 10y ago
  I think it's because navigating adult life on a bike is a skill people learn while going through university. For everybody else, bikes are just a stepping stone to being allowed to drive. If you correlate cycling with wealth and education, I suspect that the link with education will be much stronger. It might even be a bidirectional causality, with people who can't wait for earning their first car being much less likely to "waste" years on education.
  - Symbiote 10y ago
    If we're generalizing to all of Europe, which is obviously unwise, then cycling is a skill used to get to school or college. Unfortunately, I don't speak another language well enough to search for statistics outside Britain and Ireland.
galdosdi 10y ago
Motorists (and many pedestrians) just hate cyclists and look for any excuse to marginalize them. If they go too slow, they're slowing down traffic, if they go too fast they're a menace. If they're spandex clad, they're hated for their wealth, and if they're toting delivery food they're hated for their poverty. There's no winning. Despite cycling being the obvious fastest and cheapest way to get around in a dense urban area... Despite the fact that so-called cycling "infrastructure" (painting lines on streets that have to be repainted periodically anyway) costs basically nothing... Despite the fact that every person on a bike is a person not using up space in a crowded train, bus, or car lane, despite the fact that adding bike lanes makes the streets safer motorists and pedestrians more than it does for cyclists... Cyclists are literally risking their lives to make your journey better, and yet you hate them for it, because they confuse you. I don't really understand it, but I wish I could.
- some-guy 10y ago
  The hate is entirely cultural, varies from city to city, and has nothing to do with how cycling infrastructure benefits everyone. About twice a week I get called a gay explative or cut in front of while in the bike lane on purpose just to screw with me (this is between Livermore and Pleasanton in the Bay Area). When I lived in Oakland and would bike to Pleasanton for work (26 miles one way, taking BART back), the infrastructure was far worse but the drivers never gave me any trouble.
- atemerev 10y ago
  I'll be happy to explain! Indeed, both as a driver and a pedestrian, I am usually not particularly happy with cyclists. Cyclists are the most vulnerable agents on the road. More than pedestrians (even a light touch or sudden appearance is enough to tip the bike). At the same time, they are usually the most reckless people on the road. They are happy to ignore traffic lights, passage priority, almost never signal a turn (when they do, I am applauding in my mind), and generally consider themselves invulnerable. Motocyclists can be reckless, but at least they stop at red and signal lane changes. Pedestrians are vulnerable, but careful. Cyclists are the worst of the both worlds. Yes, they risk their lives, but I am not happy to take their life and go to prison for nothing. There are rules for everyone on the road, including cyclists -- please do not ignore them, and we'll be happy. As a pedestrian, I was nearly hit by a cyclist quite a few times while walking at the park. They are silent and can't be seen until the very last moment. I am also not happy about that. Some attach this ratchet thing to be more noticeable -- you are the real heroes. Unfortunately, I almost never see it in the wild.
deegles 10y ago
Maybe bike commuters being more affluent is more of an effect of their habits than a correlation with their wealth. Car commuting is expensive! http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-commuting/ http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-c...

by dkarl 10y ago

saddestcatever 10y ago

Keep in mind - Real Estate prices are a driving factor in this stereotype. Biking to work is cheap. Living close enough to work that you can comfortably bike is often expensive (especially for families/households).

Nimitz14 10y ago

It's true. Go to Europe, poor people ride the bus the better-off use a bike. I think it'd have to do because of things like getting a bike requiring a larger initial capital investment, plus there's the danger of it being stolen (which is smaller if you live in a nicer neighborhood).

InitialLastName 10y ago
This raises a funny distinction between the US and Europe... Outside of urban areas of the US, almost everybody drives cars, which are MUCH larger capital investments (and a larger long-term expense) than bicycles, regardless of income level.
dkarl 10y ago
Go to Europe, poor people ride the bus the better-off use a bike. This was my impression from the United States, too, but then numbers made me look again, and I started to notice a lot of people who didn't fit my assumptions. The image that makes me think "bike commuter" is someone briskly riding a practical, efficient bike with a laptop bag of some kind, so I was ignoring a lot of other people who are often not carrying anything, not riding very fast, riding an ill-fitting bike or one not particularly suited for commuting. It never occurred to me that those people might be riding to work.
- krakensden 10y ago
  The DUI commute.
usrusr 10y ago
I think it's because navigating adult life on a bike is a skill people learn while going through university. For everybody else, bikes are just a stepping stone to being allowed to drive. If you correlate cycling with wealth and education, I suspect that the link with education will be much stronger. It might even be a bidirectional causality, with people who can't wait for earning their first car being much less likely to "waste" years on education.
- Symbiote 10y ago
  If we're generalizing to all of Europe, which is obviously unwise, then cycling is a skill used to get to school or college. Unfortunately, I don't speak another language well enough to search for statistics outside Britain and Ireland.

galdosdi 10y ago

Motorists (and many pedestrians) just hate cyclists and look for any excuse to marginalize them. If they go too slow, they're slowing down traffic, if they go too fast they're a menace. If they're spandex clad, they're hated for their wealth, and if they're toting delivery food they're hated for their poverty. There's no winning. Despite cycling being the obvious fastest and cheapest way to get around in a dense urban area... Despite the fact that so-called cycling "infrastructure" (painting lines on streets that have to be repainted periodically anyway) costs basically nothing... Despite the fact that every person on a bike is a person not using up space in a crowded train, bus, or car lane, despite the fact that adding bike lanes makes the streets safer motorists and pedestrians more than it does for cyclists... Cyclists are literally risking their lives to make your journey better, and yet you hate them for it, because they confuse you. I don't really understand it, but I wish I could.

some-guy 10y ago
The hate is entirely cultural, varies from city to city, and has nothing to do with how cycling infrastructure benefits everyone. About twice a week I get called a gay explative or cut in front of while in the bike lane on purpose just to screw with me (this is between Livermore and Pleasanton in the Bay Area). When I lived in Oakland and would bike to Pleasanton for work (26 miles one way, taking BART back), the infrastructure was far worse but the drivers never gave me any trouble.
atemerev 10y ago
I'll be happy to explain! Indeed, both as a driver and a pedestrian, I am usually not particularly happy with cyclists. Cyclists are the most vulnerable agents on the road. More than pedestrians (even a light touch or sudden appearance is enough to tip the bike). At the same time, they are usually the most reckless people on the road. They are happy to ignore traffic lights, passage priority, almost never signal a turn (when they do, I am applauding in my mind), and generally consider themselves invulnerable. Motocyclists can be reckless, but at least they stop at red and signal lane changes. Pedestrians are vulnerable, but careful. Cyclists are the worst of the both worlds. Yes, they risk their lives, but I am not happy to take their life and go to prison for nothing. There are rules for everyone on the road, including cyclists -- please do not ignore them, and we'll be happy. As a pedestrian, I was nearly hit by a cyclist quite a few times while walking at the park. They are silent and can't be seen until the very last moment. I am also not happy about that. Some attach this ratchet thing to be more noticeable -- you are the real heroes. Unfortunately, I almost never see it in the wild.

deegles 10y ago

Maybe bike commuters being more affluent is more of an effect of their habits than a correlation with their wealth. Car commuting is expensive! http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-commuting/ http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-c...