Earlier this morning, we shared results from a survey commissioned by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance to learn more about people who ride bikes in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
A major part of that survey asked questions about people’s perceptions of the BTA. It asked whether they renewed their membership (and if not, why not), it asked what type of initiatives the BTA should focus their resources on, and even what types of words folks would use to describe their “ideal version” of the BTA.
The results to those questions weren’t initially released because the BTA thought the general public wouldn’t be interested in them. That might be true, but we’re geeky enough to be curious and thought you might be too. So, we asked the BTA to share all the survey results.
Here are some of the findings:
A Profile of BTA Members
- Current and former BTA members say (96% and 92% respectively) they have “intermediate” or “advanced” skill levels versus 83% of nonmembers.
- 89% of members have a 4-year college degree or higher.
- 81% of current members have a household income above $50,000 versus 66% of nonmembers.
- BTA members take 45% of their weekly trips by bicycle versus 39% for nonmembers.
Perceptions of the BTA
- On a scale of 1-10, members rated the BTA’s “effectiveness as an advocacy group” a 7.9. Nonmembers rated them a 6.9.
- Many respondents used the word “effective” to describe the BTA, but twice as many listed it as their ideal version of the organization.
- A “much higher” percentage of respondents used the words “inclusive” and “focused” to describe their ideal version of the BTA (versus those who used those terms to describe the current BTA).
The Reasons Why People Join the BTA
- Portland-Metro area advocacy was by far the biggest reason with 74% of respondents
- 63% said legislation was the reason, followed by 61% who said “advocacy throughout the region”
- About half of respondents said they joined because of the “Bicycle boulevards campaign”
- On the bottom of the reasons giving for joining the BTA was the Alice Awards and Auction event with 7% and “Pedstrian safety education” with 17%.
What Initiatives Should the BTA Focus On?
- Portland-Metro area advocacy was the clear winner when the survey asked people to rank a list of eight things (see graph at top of story). “Encouraging adults to ride bicycles” was a close second.
- Surprisingly, even though Safe Routes to Schools represents a large part of the BTA’s budget and staff resources, only about 1/3 of members gave “Bicycle safety education for children” and “Encouraging children to ride bicycles” a high priority.
You can download a PDF the full survey results here (analysis of questions about the BTA begin on page 15).