Transport, travel and motoring

• bicycle counts around Adelaide's CBD (both hand-counted annual cordon counts and continuous automated counts)
• length of bicycle facilities (including off-street paths, bicycle lanes and sealed shoulders)
• the number of cyclists travelling on our roads
• the number of cyclist injuries and fatalities (monitored each year)
• reported crashes involving a person riding a bicycle.

Number of cyclists in Adelaide

The number of people entering the Adelaide CBD by bicycle is monitored by annual cordon counts each October, an average month for cycling in South Australia.

Over the past five years, the number of cyclists counted travelling to and from the CBD between 7am and 7pm on a typical weekday increased from 6,153 in 2006 to 9,443 in 2011. This represents an overall increase of 51% and an average annual increase of 9.5%.
 

The following graph shows the growth of the Bikedirect network in metropolitan Adelaide over the past 14 years.  Over the past five years, the length of the Bikedirect network has increased by 76% from 604km in 2006 to 1,062km in 2011.

Inside the Numbers

Seasonal Factors

November through April is the busiest time of the year for weekday bicycle travel.  The drop-off from the busiest month (February) to the lowest month (June) is 31%. The average cycling month is October. This data was collected over 12 months in 2011 by four 24-hour bicycle counters installed on popular cycling commuter routes around Adelaide.

Time of Day

Shared use paths often serve both as a commuter route during weekday peak hours and a recreational route during midday hours, especially on weekends (though the level of recreational use varies from path to path).

The River Torrens Linear Park Path at Hindmarsh is an example of a facility that serves a different function depending on the day of week and time of day. A very tidal rush hour occurs on weekday mornings and evenings, and on weekends recreational use is spread across the day. This graph of an average day in 2011 shows both city inbound and outbound directions combined.

Gender

For cycling to work, women remain underrepresented. The most recent available Census data is several years out of date, but as of 2006, 82% of cycling journeys to work in the Adelaide Statistical Division were made by men.  The share of women cycling increased over 2001.  The release of the 2011 Census later in 2012 will provide updated results.

Cycling Safety

Though the number of reported casualty crashes is trending upwards (from 475 in 2005 to 554 in 2010), this is at a slower rate than the increase in bicycle use. This means that the likelihood of being involved in a bicycle crash is decreasing (this is known as the Safety in Numbers effect). 

For full cycling crash statistics view the current cycling crash fact sheet.