The City of Richmond was smack in the middle in the percentage of bike commuters in the Lower Mainland, according to 2011 census data released last Wednesday by Statistics Canada.
The National Household Survey found the city had 1,055 people who cycled to work, or 1.3 per cent of the total number of commuters. That compares with Vancouver, leading the pack at 4.3 per cent (12,855 bike commuters) and North Vancouver, coming in second at 2.1 per cent (1,610 bike commuters).
West Vancouver placed third with 1.7 per cent, or 250 bike commuters.
At the opposite end was Surrey, with .35 per cent of total commuters (730 cyclists). Coquitlam had 290 cyclists or .49 per cent and Burnaby, 750 cyclists or .72 per cent.
In the Metro Vancouver region, which includes 22 cities and municipalities from Langley to West Vancouver, the number of trips by bike edged up slightly to 1.8 per cent in 2011, from 1.7 per cent in 2006.
Provincially, Metro Vancouver ranked third for the percentage of cyclists who commute to work. Metro Victoria was on top at 5.9 per cent followed by metro Kelowna at 2.6 per cent. Those B.C. cities were also the top two bike commuting cities nationally.
Nationally, the metropolitan region of Ottawa-Gatineau was tied for third with Kingston at 2.2 per cent. In Winnipeg and Saskatoon, two per cent of commuters travelled by bicycle; in Montreal, 1.7 per cent, and in Toronto, 1.2 per cent.
The Vancouver Sun
