Since CCD started the bicycle counts in 2010, the average number of morning rush hour bike commuters increased from 790 per hour to 1,414 — a 79 percent increase. The count jumped 22 percent from the last survey in 2014. Unsurprisingly, 13th and 22nd Streets saw the most bike traffic—they are the only two surveyed streets with bike lanes. This year, 13th Street saw an average of 283 bicycles during the 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. hour and 22nd Street 245 bicycles.

For a rough comparison, according to Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) traffic counts from November 2012, 13th Street between Pine and Spruce Streets saw 4,334 cars per day, or about 180 per hour.

Now, some major caveats are in order before anyone starts claiming that more bikes use 13th than cars. The CCD counts are during one of the busiest hours of the day, whereas the DVRPC counts were all day, which makes the average of 180 cars per hour a bit misleading. Still, the numbers support the assertion that infrastructure like bike lanes encourages more bicycling, which has large health and environmental benefits compared to driving.

Riders tend to be younger. According to American Community Survey (ACS) data crunched by CCD, 3.3 percent of 18 to 34 year olds in Philadelphia commute via bicycle, whereas 1.4 percent of 35 to 54 year olds do, and just 0.9 percent of residents 55 and older bike. Those numbers can’t tell us whether the millennial bike commuters will still get to work on two wheels as they get older and earn more money.

The ACS numbers measure commutes only, so they exclude non-work trips. They also don’t count the occasional commute: People who bike just on casual Friday, or walk to work when the weather’s particularly nice.

It turns out, most of us are multimodal — we use multiple, different means of getting around. That’s a finding of a second, unpublished report from the CCD and obtained by PlanPhilly, which surveyed the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation’s Transportation Committee, 125 Center City businesses and Young Professionals Council members on their transportation priorities.