Press Releases

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2023
Contact: (212) 839-4850, press@dot.nyc.gov

Bike Month: NYC DOT Encourages New Yorkers to Go for a Ride on 'Bike-to-Work Day'

May is "Bike Month" and Friday, May 19, is national "Bike-to-Work Day"

DOT is on pace to install record number of protected bike lane miles in 2023 as ridership reaches historic levels

NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today encouraged New Yorkers to join him in partaking in Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 19, to celebrate the wide variety of benefits of cycling.

"'Bike-to-Work Day' is coming at the perfect time for New York City. Thanks to one of the most popular public bike share systems in the world and this administration creating safe cycling infrastructure faster than the city ever has, bike ridership is at an all-time high," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "As someone who enjoys biking to events, I applaud Commissioner Rodriguez and his team for leading from the front, and I encourage all New Yorkers to hop on a bike if they can this Friday."

"This Friday, NYC DOT will be celebrating 'Bike-to-Work Day' and building a better New York," said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. "The health, safety, and environmental benefits of cycling are so important for our city — and that's why we're working every day to build safe infrastructure to encourage more New Yorkers to travel by bike. We look forward to building a record number of protected bike lane miles this year, in addition to installing thousands of new bicycle racks, as part of our efforts to continue fueling historic ridership levels."

Bike ridership has reached a new all-time high in New York City. Each day over half a million bike trips occur in the city, with record cycling counts over East River bridges and in Midtown Manhattan last year. For the first time ever, more than 24,000 trips were recorded over East River bridges during an average in-season weekday. And more than 38,000 cycling trips were counted during an average 12-hour window across Manhattan avenues at 50th Street. NYC DOT is updating bike-related data on its website as it becomes available.

NYC DOT is looking to encourage even more trips with new bike lanes, bike boulevards, and public parking infrastructure as well as new, innovative designs to accommodate emerging e-micromobility use, including wider bike lanes.

ABOUT BIKE-TO-WORK DAY

The League of American Bicyclists established "Bike-to-Work Day" as part of the organization's efforts to showcase the benefits of cycling and encourage more Americans to try cycling. The first national Bike-to-Work Day was held in 1956.

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