Job Accessibility by Bicycle
About the measure
Job accessibility can be an important consideration for people when choosing where to live and their mode or route of travel. Multimodal accessibility measures evaluate how easily people can reach destinations by car, transit, and bicycle. MnDOT tracks how many jobs can be reached within 30 minutes by bicycle for the average adult rider in the Twin Cities Metropolitan area with a low or medium level of traffic stress. MnDOT also tracks the measure by Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). MPOs are entities designated by law with the lead responsibility for developing transportation plans and coordinating the transportation planning process for metropolitan areas with over 50,000 people. Minnesota has eight MPOs.
Recent trends
The average number of jobs accessible by bicycle (low and medium stress routes) decreased slightly in 2021 to 43,164, however average access is still increased from 2019. Comparing Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) around the state, the Metropolitan Council reports the highest number of jobs accessible within 30 minutes by bicycle (68,140). However, the differences in job access across MPOs reflects differences in land use, population density, travel impedances, job opportunities, and multimodal transportation options.
Where we want to go
Job accessibility is a key measure to understand the multimodal transportation network in Minnesota and changes due to a variety of factors including land use, job location, transportation networks, and scheduling. Access to other key destinations such as grocery stores, hospitals, and schools can also be used to understand the multimodal network impacts. MnDOT is currently developing and implementing multimodal accessibility analysis to better understand how the transportation network impacts access to key destinations. Through public engagement, MnDOT listens to walking and bicycling needs in all parts of Minnesota to inform plan priorities (Statewide Bicycle System Plan and Statewide Pedestrian System Plan), policies (Complete Streets), design (Bicycle Design Manual and Facility Design Guide), and research (Rural Pedestrian Research and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Counting Initiative).