Bicycle Network's annual Super Tuesday commuter bike count returns next week on Tuesday 3 March to measure the nation’s growth in bike riding.
Easy to spot in bright blue shirts, volunteer counters will be stationed on roads, bike lanes and shared paths to count and track the movements of people riding bikes during the morning commute between 7:00am and 9:00am.
Information about riders is then passed on to 40 participating councils who use the data to identify which bike routes need improvement and to track the success of previous work and upgrades. Councils in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart are among those participating.
Bicycle Network CEO Craig Richards said Super Tuesday data is important to help us understand the places people like to ride so we can build better bike lanes and paths to get more people active.
“Super Tuesday shows us which bike paths and lanes are most used and which ones don’t attract many people on bikes,” said Mr Richards.
“When we see that a particular spot has a lot of riders on different types of bikes, an even gender split and people of all ages, we know that’s the kind of lane or path we need more of.”
Scenes from #SuperTuesday where we see bike riding is for everyone from ebikes to cargobikes and Lycra to fashionable work clothes pic.twitter.com/AJUGzXdaj6
— Craig Richards (@richobicycle) March 4, 2019
There will be more than 800 volunteer counters stationed in cities and towns with clipboards at the ready, themselves bike lovers doing their bit to make Australia more cycle friendly.
Each volunteer will be given $60 by Bicycle Network to donate to a charity or community group of their choice. In 2019 Super Tuesday donated more than $48,000 to volunteers.
“Volunteers will be out bright and early, many with a thermos and radio to keep them company. If you see them out on the road please give them a ring of your bell and say thanks for helping make Australia a better place to ride,” added Mr Richards.
You can also share your moments with us using #SuperTuesday and @Bicycle_Network, whether your a volunteer counter or regular rider.
The busiest site in 2019 was in Melbourne on the Capital City Trail at Footscray Road where 1,889 bike riders were recorded. On average, 25% of people riding in 2019 were female.
Super Tuesday is held in southern states during March. It is held in northern states during September when the weather is better for bike riding.
There are a handful of count sites still available for those looking to volunteer. To see locations and find out more information about Super Tuesday, visit www.supertuesday.com.au.
Register nowSuper Tuesday commuter bike count 2019
When: 7:00am – 9:00am Tuesday 3 March 2020
Where: 830 individual sites at intersections and bike paths across 40 councils in New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.
Who: More than 800 volunteers from local communities. Volunteers include bike lovers and cyclists, fundraisers from sporting clubs, charities and community groups, students and Bicycle Network staff members.
How: Volunteers count bike riders at count locations in each council. They record the time, travel direction and gender of bike commuters. Bicycle Network then collates data and reports back to councils.