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Transport for London (TfL) has released new cycling data, which shows a ‘strong growth’ in cycling over the last year, and ‘good results’ from new cycling infrastructure.
Across the whole of London, 2018 saw the highest/fastest growth in kilometres cycled since monitoring began, increasing almost 5% from the previous year. For the first time, the average daily volume of cycling in London is more than four million kilometres.
Quarter 4 of the 2018/19 financial year saw an increase in the average daily cycle-km in central London of 4% with respect to the same quarter in 2017/18. Overall cycling volumes have grown on all assessed routes after the improvements in cycling infrastructure, and at a faster rate than the background trend seen at the London-wide level. TfL has said further work will be required to understand the extent to which this growth reflects ‘new trips’ stimulated by the infrastructure, transfers from other modes, or abstraction from parallel routes.
There is also a positive correlation between the provision of new cycling infrastructure and cyclists’ perception of safety, which is stronger on segregated or motor vehicle-free routes, but sufficient data is not yet available to allow a formal comparison of casualty rates. However, the demographic profile of people who cycle on new infrastructure is not significantly different from those who cycle as a whole, these remaining mostly white, male, middle-aged, middle and high-income people who cycle regularly.
London’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman said: “The Mayor is determined to enable more cycling all across the capital, and I’m really pleased last year saw the biggest increase in the amount of cycling in London since records began.
“It is clear that where we have invested in new high-quality routes, people feel safer and more confident cycling on London’s streets. And it is yet more evidence for boroughs across London that investing in walking and cycling infrastructure works – getting more people healthy and active as part of their everyday routine, and making our streets cleaner, greener and safer.”
Construction work on a major new segregated cycle route will begin this Friday.
