How Cities Are Using Biking Apps to Understand Travel Patterns
Biking apps like Ride Report and Strava are being used by transportation planners to determine where biking infrastructure should be focused.
In dozens of cities across the country, biking apps like Strava or Ride Report have become in-depth sources for data, informing planners where cyclists not only want to be riding, but where they feel safe.
These partnerships between public transportation departments and private technology firms are taking the place of manually counting bicyclists, surveying riders or even outright guessing, leading to the sort of data-based decision-making around areas like the placement of bicycle infrastructure, non-motorized master plans and other forms of transportation public policy.