05/26/2026
"In most cities outside northern Europe, men outnumber women on bikes by roughly 3 to 1. In Copenhagen and Amsterdam, the ratio is close to 50/50... Painted lines do not move this number. A plastic bollard barely moves it. A real curb between cars and bikes moves it."
In most cycling cities outside northern Europe, men outnumber women on bikes by roughly 3 to 1. In Copenhagen and Amsterdam, the ratio is close to 50/50. The difference is not culture, and it is not interest. The difference is the curb.
In April 2026, Transportation Alternatives in New York City published one of the cleanest pieces of evidence on this question yet. Their analysis found that districts with the most women cycling to work had nearly six times the protected bike lane access of the districts with the fewest. Across the city as a whole, men are 2.6 times more likely than women to bike to work. The report notes that the protected lane network currently touches just 3 percent of NYC streets and is riddled with gaps and dead ends, which means women trying to ride a normal trip will hit unprotected road again and again before they get where they are going.
The pattern is not unique to New York. A 2022 study published in the journal Cities looked at responses to NYC cycling infrastructure and found the safety bump from protected lanes was significantly larger for women than for men. Researchers at Portland State University, led by Jennifer Dill, reached the same conclusion using survey data across five US cities including Washington DC, Austin, San Francisco, Chicago, and Portland. Women consistently named safety as the top barrier. When the infrastructure changed, the ridership changed with it.
Painted lines do not move this number. A plastic bollard barely moves it. A real curb between cars and bikes moves it.
The infrastructure decision is the gender decision. Every city that has closed the gap built physical separation. Every city that has not, has not. There is no third category.
If you want more women cycling in your city, you do not need a poster campaign. You need concrete.
