The long road to a bike-friendly Australia

A recent ABC News story that discusses the fact, that despite nearly every state and many local governments having an “active transport” strategy, cycling participation and cycling infrastructure remains stagnant in Australia (ref. The Walking and Cycling Participation Survey 2025)

Like any transport investment, bike infrastructure needs to be properly located and planned, but we should not assume that making streets safer for bike riders automatically makes congestion worse. Evidence shows that, when done well, bike infrastructure can shift short local trips out of cars and reduce pressure on local roads. (Dr Afshin Jafari, RMIT’s Centre for Urban Research)

Alison McCormack, the chief executive of Bicycle Network, Australia’s principal cycling lobby group, is optimistic. She sees a higher rate of cycling as a fait accompli.

A much higher rate of cycling is inevitable as cities become denser. Add into this the evolution of e-bikes, and especially the models that can carry kids and food and materials, we see the second car disappearing from families, with those trips now being active.

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