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Daily Archives: March 3, 2015

U.S. Bicycling Participation Benchmarking Report

“When PeopleForBikes launched 16 years ago as Bikes Belong, we established the mission of “getting more people riding bikes, more often.” This goal remains central in all of our work today. As we’ve grown, and as we’ve evaluated the progress of our key projects, we’ve often been frustrated by not being able to confidently answer two of the most basic bicycling questions: How many Americans ride bikes today? What are the key trends in participation? We’ve struggled with these answers because of the limitations of available participation research. Some surveys have focused exclusively on recreational bike riding. Others have honed in on bike commuting. What’s been missing is a broad-based survey that addresses participation in all types of bicycling in the context of an overall questionnaire that asks a reasonable number of questions. Today, we are pleased to announce that we have that. PeopleForBikes commissioned Breakaway Research, led by respected bicycle researcher Dr. Jennifer Boldry, to conduct the U.S. Bicycling Participation Benchmarking Report during the fall of 2014. The methodology, full report and FAQs are published here. Key findings include:

  • Thirty-four percent of Americans ages 3+ rode a bicycle at least one day in the past year.
  • Of those who rode a bicycle, 30% rode five days or fewer.
  • Those who rode for transportation are much more likely to have done so to get to and from social, recreation, or leisure activities (70%) than to have commuted to and from work or school (46%).
  • Forty-eight percent of adults in the U.S. don’t have access to an operational bicycle at home.
  • Fifty-four percent of adults in the U.S. perceive bicycling as a convenient way to get from one place to another and 53% would like to ride more often. However, 52% worry about being hit by a car and 46% say they would be more likely to ride a bicycle if motor vehicles and bicycles were physically separated.”

IMF Releases Updated Guidelines for Compiling Fiscal Statistics

“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released today the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014), providing updated international guidance for the compilation, reporting, and analytical use of government finance (fiscal) statistics (GFS). The GFS guidelines are the basis for fiscal analysis, and play a vital role in the development and monitoring of sound fiscal… Continue Reading

Justice Department Criminal Charges Against David Petraeus

“Justice Department Spokesman Marc Raimondi released the following statement Tuesday: “Three documents – a criminal Information, a plea agreement, and a statement of facts – were filed today in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina’s Charlotte Division in the case of United States v. David Howell Petraeus.  The criminal… Continue Reading

Algorithm Aversion: People Erroneously Avoid Algorithms after Seeing Them Err

Dietvorst, Berkeley J. and Simmons, Joseph P. and Massey, Cade, Algorithm Aversion: People Erroneously Avoid Algorithms after Seeing Them Err (July 6, 2014). Forthcoming in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2466040 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2466040 “Research shows that evidence-based algorithms more accurately predict the future than do human forecasters. Yet, when forecasters… Continue Reading

Federal Courts Considers FTC’s Data Protection Authority

EPIC – “A federal appeals court heard arguments today in FTC v. Wyndham, an important data privacy case. Wyndham Hotels, which revealed hundreds of thousands of customer records following a data breach, is challenging the FTC’s authority to enforce data security standards. In an amicus brief joined by legal scholars and technical experts, EPIC defended… Continue Reading

Robust Methods for the Analysis of Images and Videos for Fisheries Stock Assessment

“The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s living marine resources and their habitat. As part of this charge, NMFS conducts stock assessments of the abundance and composition of fish stocks in several bodies of water. At present, stock assessments rely heavily on human data-gathering and analysis. Automatic means… Continue Reading

EPA Approves New Climate-Friendly Refrigerants

“As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is increasing the options for refrigerants used in various kinds of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment in the United States that offer better climate protection without harming the ozone layer. This final action addresses refrigerants under the Climate Action Plan that… Continue Reading

Public Spending on Transportation and Water Infrastructure, 1956 to 2014

“Public spending—spending by federal, state, and local governments—on transportation and water infrastructure totaled $416 billion in 2014. Most of that spending came from state and local governments: They provided $320 billion, and the federal government accounted for $96 billion. This report provides information on spending for six types of transportation and water infrastructure: Highways, Mass… Continue Reading

New Census Bureau Report Analyzes U.S. Population Projections

“A new U.S. Census Bureau report released today provides an in-depth analysis of the nation’s population looking forward to 2060, including its size and composition across age, sex, race, Hispanic origin and nativity. These projections are the first to incorporate separate projections of fertility for native- and foreign-born women, permitting the Census Bureau to better account… Continue Reading

14 Consumer Groups Outline Shortcomings In WH Privacy Legislation

“Consumer Watchdog today joined 13 other public interest groups in a letter to President Obama outlining the shortcomings of the draft Consumer Privacy Bill Of Rights Act and pledging to work with the Administration and Congress to strengthen the “In 2 2012, you released your vision of the founding principles of consumer privacy — the… Continue Reading