Bicycle Availability per Household tells us more than just how many bikes people own. It tells us how much ownership actually translates into trips. 

Ownership data alone can’t tell the difference — and used alone, it produces misleading conclusions about real cycling behaviour.

The gap between owning and using is not random. It follows the fault lines of safety perception, storage access, and cost that run through every city. 

Women own bikes at rates similar to men — but in Boston, Chicago and Kisumu, men make up to 96% of bicycle trips. The barrier isn’t ownership. It’s whether people feel safe riding. 

A bicycle availability rate is only useful if you ask: available to whom? Usable under what conditions? Converted into trips by which infrastructure? 

That’s the difference between a statistic and a policy lever.