The latest figures on cycling rates across Australia indicate that while the COVID spike has been blunted, rider numbers in Victoria have remained robust.
The National Walking and Cycling Participation Survey, conducted every two years since 2011 for the Federal Government, shows that the 2023 participation rate, while not as high as 2021, is higher than 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019.
This is encouraging, especially as the “work from home” era is still casting a noticeable shadow over commuter bike trips.
The COVID years were a strong stimulus to recreational bike riding, especially in Melbourne, as lockdowns, and the associated exercise exemptions, resulted in irregular riders dusting down the bike in the garage and heading out much more frequently for a pedal.
Understandably, life has returned to near-normal for many citizens, and their opportunities to ride have diminished.
However, the survey suggests that a proportion have caught the bug and are persisting with the healthy habit.
And it shows the wisdom of State Government and councils in pushing out “pop-up” bike infrastructure to make streets more welcoming to people on bikes.
If commuter numbers continue to rise, as recent observations confirm, and bike infrastructure investment also picks up, then Melbourne and Victoria should continue the strong bike riding tradition.
See our story on the other states here.
The survey was conducted earlier this year. It measures the rate of participation in bike riding across the population. Respondents were asked several questions, including whether they have ridden in the last week, month and year.
Across Victoria 17.1% of residents reported riding in the previous week and 38.7% over the previous year.
This equates to 1,128,900 residents riding in a typical week and 2,562,000 riding at least once in a typical year.
Males are significantly more likely to have ridden in the past week than females. The cycling participation rate over the previous week among male residents was 22.9% compared with 11.3% for females.
Of the people who cycled in Victoria in the previous month, 74.5% cycled for recreation and 45.8% used a bicycle for transport.