EDISON — As the costs of getting from here to there continue to worry Americans, some area bicycle shops have reported an increase in sales as more people turn to alternative means of transportation as a way to save money.
Data from the Federal Highway Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, shows that for the first time in years, the number of miles Americans drove from May 2007 to May 2008 had actually shrunk by almost 10 billion miles nationwide.
While this figure is small next to the federal agency’s estimation that, cumulatively, 1.185 trillion miles will be driven within the year, the reduction indicates the number of people seeking other means of transportation in the wake of rising fuel prices.
New Jersey, seeing a reduction from 6.419 billion to 6.085 billion miles within the same time period, is no exception.
This squares with a poll conducted by AAA Mid-Atlantic, which found that 74 percent of respondents are doing their best to curb their mileage.
David Weinstein, a spokesperson with AAA, said that while gas prices have been going down over the past few weeks, it is expected that prices will remain high, and noted that the average cost of a gallon of gas about a year ago was $2.75, versus $3.87 this year.Barry Dicken, owner of Planet Bike in East Brunswick, believes that his increase in sales reflects, at least partially, this decrease in road miles driven.
“It’s been dramatic, a dramatic increase [in sales],” said Dicken in a phone interview.
The bike shop owner noted, though, that much of the new sales came not from commuters but from people interested in recreational biking, and that fuel costs may be leading people to seek more affordable vacations.
“People commuting are either not going on vacation or doing park things, taking family trips to parks, and riding that way instead of going on vacation, I guess. I see a lot more of it. I just saw a family come in and they need a rack to take their bikes with them. So, they’ve been putting car racks on their cars and either going locally or going to, say, Cape May, where they can go riding,” said Dicken.
Wally Tunison, owner of the Bicycle Hub of Marlboro and a cycling advocate, has also seen an increase in the number of bike sales over the past few months, though he said the increase has been small.
Tunison noted that his store is located near the Henry Hudson Trail, part of the Monmouth County Park System, which runs right to the train station, a fact that is probably encouraging to local commuters. But he said there are several factors preventing biking as an alternative to driving from becoming a more widespread phenomenon.
“We’re not seeing a huge increase, because folks are still unsure as to whether this, in my opinion, is permanent, this fast increase, and whether they can weather it, and are uncertain as to how they can handle foul weather,” said Tunison.
Also a factor, he said, was the lack of infrastructure for biking and walking in many parts of New Jersey, which he has been trying to change through legislation. Tunison said that he has noticed these ideas gaining more traction as gas prices continue to rise, but said he estimates that gas would need to hit at least $5 a gallon before “people get serious.”
This sentiment was echoed by Jason Fenton, owner of Halter’s Cycles in Monmouth Junction.
“I don’t think people locally are going to give up their cars until gas gets to be about five, six bucks a gallon. There’s a select few buying bikes for the sake of commuting. Cycling in general is on the rise, but it’s mostly for recreation,” said Fenton, who noted that his own store has seen mostly level sales over the past few months, neither rising nor falling.
The slight uptick in bike sales is not isolated to New Jersey. Modest increases in bike sales have been reported all over the country, especially those seeking utility, or commuter-style bikes, as opposed to mountain bikes, according to Fred Clements, president of the National Bicycle Dealers Association, a trade group that publishes research on the bike industry and promotes the interests of the biking public.
“Normally, our industry deals with recreation or fitness people who like bikes, or as a hobby, and this time they are seeing a whole new kind of customers… . They really are seeing a lot more interest and a lot of sales for [commuter-type] bikes,” said Clements.
Another trend that Clements said bike dealers have been reporting has been an increase in service and repair, which he said indicates people are bringing bikes they already own out of the garage and onto the roads. Still, he cautioned against thoughts that there is a bike boom going on, noting that in a weak economy, people may be less inclined to make a major purchase like a bicycle.
“Even though the sales of utility [bikes are] way up, a weak economy may be downwardly affecting the recreation side of the business, so it would be overly aggressive to see this as a bike boom. We may be up a little, but some of that discretionary spending won’t be buying as many mountain bikes, because the economy is weak,” Clements said.