Pedestrians and Cyclists Are Good for Business

By Erin Weaver

A new report from Portland, Oregon, makes the business case for bikable and walkable communities, concluding that at many establishments, cyclists and pedestrians report outspending drivers.

In a survey of thousands of shoppers leaving supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, and bars, researchers for the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium asked customers about their spending per trip and trips per month, concluding that for all but supermarkets, cyclists spent the same amount or less per visit compared to drivers. The ease of stopping instead of passing, however, meant cyclists and pedestrians visited more often and so spent more in the course of a month. At restaurants, for example, while most customers still arrived by car, individual cyclists outspent individual drivers by about 20% monthly.

Developing infrastructure such as bike lanes and parking racks encourages greater ridership and increased impulse stops as well as catering to people with the potential to become regular customers. The study can be found at otrec.us/news.

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IMAGE CREDITS:
1. Photo: Richard Masoner/Cyclelicious (Creative Commons license)

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