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The Super Tuesday results have been finalised for 2022, and they suggest the impact of pandemic hesitancy and work-location flexibility may be having an effect on bike commuting volumes across Australia.

The annual Super Tuesday South Count was completed on the 1^st of March from 7am - 9am, with a small number of sites counted on recount dates later in March.

In total, 84,471 bike riders were counted at 760 sites across 37 council areas located around Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales.

Western Australia produced the best results of all the states, with sites increasing rider volume by 18 per cent on average compared to 2021 counts.

Overall, cycling volumes were down 15 per cent across all sites which were measured in the 2021 Super Tuesday counts. This could be partly explained by work-flexibility allowing many commuters to work from home, as well as some poor forecasted weather on count days across the east coast.

In particular, New South Wales riders experienced wet weather through much of March, resulting in lower commuter count volumes than previous years.

Amongst Victorian LGAs, Moreland (-2 per cent), Brimbank (-4 per cent) and Maribyrnong (-7 per cent) recorded the smallest decline in growth across sites compared with 2021 volumes, while Melbourne saw a decline of 13 per cent.

Bicycle Network has been recording commuter volumes at council-identified sites through Super Count events since 2007, making it one of the largest and most reliable active transport data surveys in the country.

The 2022 Super Tuesday South count raised $46,920 through volunteer counter donations for community organisations and clubs, charities, and fundraisers. Counters stand on key intersections and thoroughfares on shared-use paths, roads, trails and other forms of infrastructure.

This article was made possible by the support of Bicycle Network's members who enable us to make bike riding better in Australia.