Riding to work in the Melbourne CBD has continued to grow following the flat years of the pandemic, according to figures from the latest Bicycle Network Super Tuesday annual bike count.
Initial analysis of twenty high-volume sites in the City of Melbourne has revealed a 7% increase in 2024.
While total numbers are not at the levels seen pre-COVID, the growth builds on the large bounce observed last year after the lockdown-induced lulls of 2021 and 2022.
Numbers were up more than 50% in 2023 as workers returned to the CBD and the 2024 figures mark a consolidation of this trend.
The increase is significant. At an annual growth rate of 7%, in another ten years, the number of people commuting to the office by bike would be double what it is today. And that figure would be double again in 2044.
“It is so pleasing to see Melbourne back on track and more people hopping on their bikes to start the day,” says Bicycle Network Chief Executive Officer Alison McCormack. “To continue the upward trend after the pandemic shows the city is on the rebound and that bikes have a key part to play in its future.”
Bicycle Network conducts its Super Tuesday count on the first Tuesday in March each year in partnership with local councils to gather long-term data on active transport trends.
The 2024 count was the first time data has been collected on e-bikes, and already this is producing valuable insights.
Of the 18,000 riders counted at the key sites in the City of Melbourne, one in ten were on e-bikes.
Demonstrating the potential of e-bikes as an inclusive mode of transportation, 41% of those e-bike riders were women, while women represented 29% of non-e-bike riders.
More results will be released in the coming weeks as Bicycle Network continues compiling survey data from across the country, collected by more than 1000 volunteers in the biggest Super Tuesday ever.