Picture it, Maryland, spring 2020 (word to Sophia). It was early spring 2020 and every path, trail and open road near me was filled with people on bikes. I am a runner. I am used to sharing the road with other runners, pedestrians and cyclists. However in 2020 the number of cyclists seemed to have increase significantly. The data backs me up on my suspicions. Per a BBC article, in March 2020, ridership on trails in the US peaked at a threefold increase compared with the same period in 2019. Let’s take a look at a visual representation of this boom.
Data Source: https://data.world/makeovermonday/2021w1, Rails to Trails Conservancy
This graph doesn’t tell a complete a story. It is not representative of the dramatic increase in bicycle ownership in 2020 when compared to that of 2019.
Let’s talk about how this graphic could be improved to tell a better story. The original graph has an undefined number of units on the Y axis. What are we measuring? The units on the X axis while accurate, aren’t intuitive. We generally think of a year in terms of months, not weeks. This graph doesn’t capture the dramatic increase in bicycle use at first glance, nor does it tell the story of why this increase occurred and why it is interesting. A few small changes and some additional information makes all the difference.
Here is a screenshot of a data story made in Tableau. A link to the full infographic is here: 2020 Bike Boom — April | Tableau Public
You will see that the X and Y axis have been modified and additional notation has been added to explain why this increase in bicycle use is interesting and compelling.
Just like that, a simple graphic was made into a more interesting and compelling data story with a few tweeks and some additional background information. The graph is now more informative and more interesting visually. It engages the reader and provides context to what the graph intended to show. Now, good luck finding a bike!
References:
Original article: https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/made-on-earth/the-great-bicycle-boom-of-2020.html
