Analyzing the Behavior and Growth of Cycling in Four North American Cities Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The paper highlights the changes in cycling patterns and ridership trends across 12 years (including the COVID-19 pandemic) in Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, and New York. Using data from 17 bicycle counting stations, changes in the dynamics of daily and weekly profiles before and during pandemic were determined. Additionally, the ridership demand evolution across the years was explored using models that controlled for variations in the weather. All the studied bicycle facilities experienced changes in the daily and hourly patterns in 2020 (the first year of the pandemic), tending toward recreational purposes. Significant growth in bicycle activity during the first year of the pandemic has been found, but trends for the following years (2021 and 2022) have not been studied. This study found that all counting sites located on cycling facilities primarily used for utilitarian purposes experienced a growth in ridership during 2020. Ridership on utilitarian corridors in Montreal and New York City grew considerably during the pandemic before stabilizing in 2021 and 2022. The same counting sites rapidly reverted to utilitarian hourly and daily patterns in 2021. The mixed-utilitarian bicycle facilities in Ottawa and Montreal shifted toward more recreational uses during the pandemic, though ridership did not grow in 2021 and 2022. All the counting sites in Vancouver shifted toward mixed use during the first year of the pandemic and did not show any clear signs of reverting to their utilitarian patterns.