Bike riding data pedalling in the right direction

Western Australia is tracking well when it comes to bike riding participation.

The Department of Transport regularly monitors activity on Western Australia's bicycle network using quantitative and qualitative data sources. This provides valuable insights into bike riding activity across the State and informs our decision making for future network links.

Key findings from the 2022-23 period: 

• We’ve seen a 10% aggregate growth in bike riding activity when compared to pre-COVID counts in 2018-19.
• There were more individual sites experiencing growth than a decline, and weekday bike riding activity looks to be returning.
• Growth was observed across several Principal Shared Path (PSP) corridors, along with an observable shift in demand (away from older sections of the network) towards newly constructed PSP routes.
• 7% of bike riders were new or returning to bike riding, and encouragingly, 71% of these were females.
• At 47%, we have the third highest rate of people interested in taking up bike riding across the county.

Recent data from the National Walking Cycling Participation Survey also reported participation levels nationally are tracking higher than pre-COVID levels, and this trend is also observed in the Perth metropolitan area. 

Additionally, the 2023 Australian Cycling and E-scooter Economy Report found that:

• WA is one of three states that engages in bike riding at a greater rate when compared to the national average.
• WA, along with the ACT, has the highest bike riding use per capita, reflecting investment into cycling infrastructure.

For more information, visit our Evaluation, monitoring and reporting page.