More Australians are riding bikes for transport, according to the latest active travel participation survey.
Bike riding for transport has risen by more than 10% in 2025, the national survey reports, with commuter trips now 20% of all bike travel.
Riding as part of a public transport journey is also up, now at 5% from 2.3%.
Riding to get to the shops is at 12.5% up from 7%.
The survey was last undertaken in 2023 and has been regularly conducted every second year since 2011.
Originally a cycling-only survey, the 2025 count included walking for the first time. Some 12,000 Australians responded to the survey.
The survey this year used some different techniques, so comparisons with previous years are not exact, but they are generally comparable.
In Victoria the survey found that monthly cycling rates were now equivalent to pre-Covid levels, although still down from the Covid-era peak.
It found that riding a bike each week was most common in children, with 41% of 5–9 year-olds riding each week.
The steepest decline occurs between ages 10–17 and 18–24, suggesting a key transition point where cycling habits often fall away.
In Victoria 15.7% of people reported riding in the past week, 19.7% male and 11.8% female.
Despite the shift towards riding for transport (26.3%), recreation and exercise (51.5%) is still the main reason people ride.
The survey also examined people’s motivation for riding, finding that better paths, secure storage and time availability were key factors:
- better infrastructure – 39% of respondents cited better paths, facilities, and on-road safety features
- secure bike storage – 38% wanted somewhere safe to park or store their bike at their destination
- time availability – 37% said simply having more time would encourage them to cycle more
- motivation and bike suitability – 37% cited general motivation, and 30% said having a bike that suits their needs would help
- work-related factors – 25% wanted an easier commute to work, and 23% called for bike racks on buses.
E-bike ownership is up 6.4% since the last survey. About 2% of Victorians owned an e-scooter or similar, with 0.9% using one weekly, indicating the devices are still a niche with limited uptake.
The full reports for the nation and all states are available here.
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