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2020 Boston Bike Counts

Measuring bicycling in Boston

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We count how many people are riding bikes at locations across the City. By 2030, our goal is to increase bicycling fourfold. Counting helps us understand trends and measure our progress.

In 2020, we collected counted bike volumes in all four seasons for the first time. We collected counts over two days in March, in June, in September, and in December. By doing so, we can begin to understand how biking volumes change in different times of the year, during different weather conditions, and under changed travel patterns.

On this page, you will find data from our 2020 bike counts. We have also included Bluebikes data to provide a deeper understanding of cycling in Boston and the region.

2020 Snapshot

We counted bikes quarterly in 2020: March, June, September, and December. This is the first time we counted bikes in March or in December.

The quarterly bike counts were planned before the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic's impacts on travel patterns impacted bike travel as well. Bike traffic was down in the peak hours in the morning and evening. This reflects fewer people reporting to offices for 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. jobs. However, more people opted to ride bikes for other types of trips and just for fun.

SPRING

We counted people biking at 21 locations over two days in March 2020.

  • Tuesday, March 17: High 44°, Low 31°, Cloudy/Light Drizzle
  • Wednesday, March 18: High 49°, Low 37°, Fair Mostly Cloudy

View Summary Table

SUMMER

We counted people biking at 30 locations over two days in June 2020.

  • Tuesday, June 9: High 80°, Low 60°, Cloudy/Mostly Cloudy
  • Wednesday, June 10: High 65°, Low 58°, Mostly Cloudy

View Summary Table

FALL

We counted people biking at 66 locations over two days in September 2020.

  • Wednesday, September 23: High 79°, Low 55°, Fair/Partly Cloudy
  • Thursday, September 24: High 79°, Low 61°, Cloudy/Mostly Cloudy

View Summary Table

WINTER

We counted people biking at 21 locations over two days in December 2020.

  • Tuesday, December 8: High 31°, Low 26°, Cloudy
  • Wednesday, December 9: Weather: High 36°, Low 24°, Cloudy

View Summary Table

Explore 2020 Bike Counts

Dive into interactive maps, graphics, and visualizations of our 2020 bike data.

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Bluebikes in 2020

An overhead look at the front basket on a Bluebike. A bunch of flowers and a bag of groceries, including bread and apples, are in the basket.

In 2020, we took more than two million trips on Bluebikes.

After record-high ridership in the first quarter of 2020, Bluebikes trips dropped sharply in April and May. By fall 2020, trips were up significantly. We even set a new record for total trips taken on a single day. We provided free passes to over 2000 people as part of our efforts to support hospital workers and employees of grocery stores, pharmacies, retail shops, and restaurants.

Our interactive maps and graphics will help you understand how we used our public bike share in 2020.

Explore

Bike Counts Database

Use an interactive map to visualize our bike counts from 2016 through 2020. Search by location, and download hour-by-hour summaries for each day.

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