Measuring progress

Knowing how many people are riding their bikes, why they ride, where they ride and how often they ride is important to help us understand what will grow cycling even further across our state. This baseline of data will enable us to track our progress over time in embedding cycling into Queensland’s transport system, culture, communities and economy.

The Queensland State of Cycling Report will be published every two years so that we can measure progress towards the five key objectives of the Queensland Cycling Strategy 2017—2027.

The graph shows the percentage of the population of selected regional areas in 2015 that cycle in a typical month. All of the selected regions showed cycling participation rates above the Queensland average of 22.1%, including Mackay at 25.2%, 3.1% above the average, Cairns at 29.7%, 7.6% above the average, and Gladstone at 23.1%, 1% above the Queensland average. Source: Austroads. 2015. National Cycling Participation Survey: Cairns, Gladstone, Mackay. Sydney. Unpublished reports prepared for the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

On average, every one dollar invested in cycling infrastructure returns almost five dollars to Queensland in health benefits, reduced traffic congestion and other benefits. Source: Department of Transport and Main Roads. 2016. Queensland Cycle Infrastructure Investment Strategy 2016-26 and Business Case. Brisbane. Unpublished report.

Objective 1: More cycling, more often in Queensland.

Knowing how many people are riding their bikes, why they ride, where they ride and how often they ride is important to help us understand what will grow cycling even further across our state.

To track our progress, we will measure:	2017	2019
Percentage of Queenslanders who ride a bicycle in a typical week	16.6%¹	13.5%²
Percentage of Queensland children aged under 10 years who ride a bicycle in a typical week	51.5%³	26.9%⁴
Percentage of Queensland children aged 10–17 years who ride a bicycle in a typical week	38.9%⁵	38.3%⁶
Proportion of cyclists who are female	38.0%⁷	38.7%⁸
Proportion of cyclists who ride for transport	39.1%⁹	40.2%¹⁰

Explanation of results

The proportion of Queenslanders who ride a bike at least once a year hasn’t significantly changed since 2017.

The 2019 National Cycling Participation Survey shows:

one-third of Queenslanders, or about 1.8 million residents, ride in a typical year
the number of Brisbane residents riding a bike rose
the number of Queenslanders riding each week in regional areas has declined, likely due to longer trip distances, preferences for other transport modes and safety concerns.

The same survey shows a drop in the number of Queenslanders who rode their bike in a typical week. However we believe this is due to the improbably low rate of bike riding among children aged under 10 years, when compared with the previous years. Children make up a large proportion of the riding population, affecting the overall numbers.

These statistics show our continued investment in bike riding infrastructure across the Greater Brisbane area is making a difference, but we have more to do in regional areas.

Other key indicators stayed steady since 2017:

children and young people are still the most likely to ride their bike regularly
most people who ride bikes in Queensland do so for recreation
the proportion of people who ride for transport stayed stable at 40%
males are twice as likely as females to ride bikes.

With the Queensland Cycling Strategy 2017—2027, we will keep working hard to get more people cycling, more often.

Footnotes
_{1. Austroads. 2017. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

2. Austroads. 2019. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

3. Austroads. 2017. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

4. Austroads. 2019. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

5. Austroads. 2017. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

6. Austroads. 2019. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

7. Austroads. 2017. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

8. Austroads. 2019. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

9. Austroads. 2017. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

10. Austroads. 2019. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.}

Objective 2: Cycle networks that are complete, connected and integrated with other transport modes.

People are more likely to cycle for transport or recreation when there are safe, connected and direct routes to ride on.

To track our progress, we will measure:	2017	2019
Number of kilometres of principal cycle network built as part of the Active Transport Investment Program*	444.6km	538km
Percentage of bicycle riders that ride to public transport	8%¹	8%²
Percentage of public transport stations with secure bicycle parking**	51%	53%
Percentage of public transport stations with unsecured bicycle parking**	52%	56%

_{*Cycling Infrastructure Program has been renamed to the Active Transport Investment Program}

_{**Includes TransLink Bus Stations, Busway Stations, Brisbane Ferry Terminals, CityCat Terminals, Gold Coast Light Rail and Citytrain. A station may accommodate secure and unsecured bicycle parking. Figures should be considered separately.}

Footnotes
_{1. Austroads. 2017. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

2. Austroads. 2019. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.}

Objective 3: Positive perceptions of cycling throughout Queensland.

Improving people’s perceptions of cycling, especially among other road users, is essential to increasing the number of people who cycle.

To track our progress, we will measure:	2017	2019
Percentage of cyclists who are comfortable riding in their area	66%¹	64%²
Percentage of cyclists who feel conditions are improving in their area	34%³	29%⁴
Percentage of drivers with good knowledge of cycling-related road rules*	44%⁵	Update not available
Percentage of drivers with positive perceptions of cyclists*	58%⁶	Update not available

_{*The survey from which this metric was sourced has been discontinued. We are investigating options to replace this metric.}

Explanation of results

Despite the benefits of bike riding, many Queenslanders still perceive it as unsafe. We are working to better understand the attitudes, behaviours, barriers and motivations for riding a bike in Queensland, and to promote and tailor activities that encourage more riding.

Footnotes

_{1. Austroads. 2017. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

2. Austroads. 2019. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

3. Austroads. 2017. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

4. Austroads. 2019. National Cycling Participation Survey: Queensland. Sydney.

5. Market and Communications Research. 2016. Road Safety Perceptions and Attitudes Survey (RSPAT). Brisbane.

6. Market and Communications Research. 2016. Road Safety Perceptions and Attitudes Survey (RSPAT). Brisbane.}

Objective 4: Cycling helping the Queensland economy to prosper.

We know well-planned cycling infrastructure pays itself off in health benefits and reduced traffic congestion. As part of the Queensland Cycling Strategy 2017 – 2027, we are investigating the range of benefits of cycling to Queensland businesses and the overall economy.

To track our progress, we will measure:	2017	2019
Number of kilometres of constructed rail trails	226	303
Number of attendees at major events	11,220	9763*

_{* This figure is based on attendance numbers at three of the largest cycling events held in Queensland by Bicycle Queensland, Cycling Queensland and Mountain Bike Australia in 2018. The change from 2017 reflects reduced attendance at the 2018 Brisbane to Gold Coast Cycle Challenge due to very wet weather conditions.}

Objective 5: A strong evidence base that guides decision making about cycling.

Collecting and understanding data about who is riding, why they ride, when they ride and where they ride is helping to ensure our investments in cycling infrastructure and programs are targeted and working well.

To track our progress, we will measure:	2017	2019
Number of permanent monitoring points on the principal cycle network*	18	23
Number of collected monitoring points released as open data sets**	14	17

_{* This measure is for Department of Transport and Main Roads monitoring points.}
_{** Open data sets are for data collected from the Department of Transport and Main Roads monitoring points.}