The 1990 census placed the number at 500,000, while a 1993 Bicycle Federation of America estimate placed the number at 4.9 million. Charles Komanoff, a New York City-based economist who wrote a 1992 bicycle study for the Federal Highway Administration, said the number is probably somewhere in the middle. The problem is, no one wants to pay for accurate measurement. Another factor is what constitutes a bicycle commuter. In general terms, The EPA estimates that dangerous emissions could be cut by as much as 5 percent if just 2.5 percent of car trips were made by bike instead, and 8 to 15 million barrels of oil could be saved annually through a nationwide program to increase the use of bicycles for transportation.
Most experts agree that bicycle commuting is on the rise, but how much is also difficult to measure.
Employer attitudes have definitely changed. They are much more likely to provide shower facilities and safe bicycle storage facilities.