Last year over 40 million Americans rode a bicycle at least six times and it will continue to rise significantly. So says the investment company Mercanti Group. The American commuter transportation according to Mercanti now consists of about 2 percent cyclists. Four years ago this was 0.4 percent.
High fuel prices have had, according to Mercanti a big impact on American consumers. The U.S. government, both federal and local, are starting more and more bicycle-friendly projects as a strategy to reduce gas emissions and thereby build a bicycle infrastructure that attracts more consumers. "Even consumers who never have considered cycling as a transport option, are thus attracted," said the magazine Marketing Daily. "Because of those infrastructure improvements cycling has become safer and is considered by more and more consumers as a convenient way to travel.
Over the last four years, the budgets of the federal government for cyclists and pedestrians more than doubled to $ 4.5 billion, including through the construction of commuter routes, bicycle parkings and dressing rooms. It is obvious that these improvements in cycling infrastructure also go hand in hand with a sharp increase in the recreational use of the bicycle.
The U.S. bicycle industry is currently worth about $ 6 billion. The turnover of the sector is still largely driven by sales of mountain bikes, but Mercanti says a clear growth has been observed in other sectors such as road bikes, hybrids and electric bike, serving a completely different group of customers
