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Cycling in Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Cycling in Australia is a common form of transport, recreation and sport. Many Australians ride regularly because it improves their health and is a convenient and fast way to get to their destination.[1]: 35
In 2020, 1.7 million bicycles were sold in Australia.[2] As of 2023, around 15% of Australians rode a bicycle (including e-bicycles) in the previous week and 36.7% over the previous year.[3] Australians no longer only ride for recreation - bicycle commuting is on the rise around Australia, with an increase in every state where counts took place.[4] It is estimated that 20% of shared bike trips are replacing car travel.[5] Across Australia, over one-third of riders used a bike for transport[6]: 17 and various governments around Australia are encouraging more people to start riding. The New South Wales Government wants walking and bike riding to be the preferred way to make short trips and a viable, safe and efficient option for longer trips,[7] and the Department of Transport (Victoria) recognises that active travel is the preferred choice for short trips.[8]
Across Australia, 19% of people are cautious or confident bike riders. A further 42% of people are interested - do not currently ride but would like to.[6]: 21 In NSW, 48% of people are "interested" in cycling but are "concerned" about safety.[9] Cycling is a safer method of transport than driving.[10] Cycling is less popular in Australia than in Europe, however cyclists make up one in forty road deaths and one in seven serious injuries.[11]
Australia spends $714 per person on roads every year, and 90 cents goes to walking, wheeling and cycling.[12] In NSW, the funding for active transport is approximately 0.2% of the total transport spend.[13] The United Nations recommends nations spend 20% of their transport budgets on walking and cycling infrastructure.[14] The NSW Government "Support in principle" funding alignment with the United Nations recommendation.[15] The NSW government has estimated every kilometre cycled benefits the economy by $4.10.[12] On average in Queensland, every $1 invested in cycling infrastructure returns $5 in benefits.[16][17]
In areas with more investment in safe cycling infrastructure, cycling is becoming a mainstream mode of transport.[18] In the City of Sydney, over one quarter of residents surveyed cycled within the last month.[1] Twice-yearly counts at 68 intersections show a 15% increase in people riding year-on-year and a 168% increase since 2010.[19] From 2019 to April 2024, there were more than 2.9 million share bike trips taken in the City of Sydney.[20] In 2024, there were over 1.94 million share bike trips in the City of Sydney area.[21]
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History
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Bicycles arrived in Australia in 1860s, and the sport was quickly adopted with touring and racing clubs forming.[22]
By the 1890s cycling was accessible to the middle class, and long-distance cycle travelling was a fact of life for many sheep shearers and other agricultural labourers with migratory work.[23] The bicycle and swag travelled much of Australia on dusty dirt tracks, long before the automobile made its appearance. In the main, however, long-distance cycling was a sport of endurance or was done out of necessity.
At the same time, racing became quite popular with the Austral Wheel Race beginning in 1887, and leading to the development of the Malvern Star cycling brand.[24] The first Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic, a long-distance event, was held in October 1895, eight years before the first Tour de France.
Between 1990 and 1992 Australia become the first country to make wearing helmets compulsory, after a number of studies indicated that they reduced head injuries.[25] After their introduction, the overall number of riders decreased, mostly due to a decline in children riding to school. This has not conclusively shown to be due to mandatory helmet laws and may have followed pre-existing trends dating from the 1970s.[26][27][28]
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Laws
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Cyclists in every state are required to follow normal road rules, including using traffic lights correctly and observing give way and stop signs while riding on the road.
Cyclists in every state must wear helmets while in motion. In all states, cyclists must ride as close as practicable to the left side of the road when on a single lane road, however, cyclists may use any lane and does not have to keep to the left on a multi-lane road. All states require only one passenger per bicycle unless the bicycle is designed otherwise.
Bike users in Western Australia and Tasmania must use both hand signals, while in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, and Northern Territory cyclists must signal when turning right but it's not compulsory when turning left.
Cyclist must have at least one hand on handle bars in Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland.
Cyclist may ride on standard footpaths in Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia and Australian Capital Territory. In Victoria cyclists can only ride on a footpath if they're under the age of 13 or supervising a child under 13, or have a disability which restrains them from being able to ride on the road.[30] In New South Wales cyclists can only ride on a footpath if they're under the age of 16 or supervising a child under 16. In Queensland cyclists can ride on any path as long as there isn't a sign stating otherwise.
Cyclists may ride in groups or bunches in all Australia States and territories, riding two abreast riders must be no more than 1.5 meters apart.[31]
Cyclists across Australia must follow the same rules as motor vehicle drivers in regards to using mobile phones and consuming alcohol.
Cyclist also need to use a bike light when riding at night in Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland.[32][33][34][35][36][37][38]
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Types of cycling
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Recreational cycling
Many Australians ride a bike for recreation or commuting. In 2023, 15% of Australians cycled at least weekly, 24% at least monthly and 37% at least yearly.[6] Of the Australians who had cycled in the past month, 81% had cycled for recreation.[6]
In 2024, there were 4.6 million trips, 42 million nights, and $6.0 billion in spend attributed to trips involving a cycling activity.[39]
The National Cycling Strategy was tasked with doubling the number of people cycling from 2011 to 2016, which was not achieved. Demographic changes, and decreasing numbers of riders within capital cities accounted for most of the decrease.[40] Some of the decrease within NSW has been blamed on increased cycling fines implemented in 2016.[41]
The NCS has found that cycling was the most common in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory during 2015. Victoria and Queensland have decreased in participation between 2011 and 2015.[40]
Doubling the number of bike users has the potential[vague] to increase the safety for all riders by helping to make drivers more aware of bicycles on the road,[dubious – discuss] and adding pressure to those who already cycle to obey the road rules.[dubious – discuss]
Cycling as a sport
Australia hosts the Tour Down Under in January of every year; it is the first UCI World Tour event on the annual cycling calendar, and the only UCI World Tour in the southern hemisphere. Australians place strongly in cycling at the Olympic Games, UCI World Championships and other international events.
Australia has hosted the UCI Road World Championships, UCI Track Cycling World Championships and UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships. Most state capitals have an indoor velodrome.
Safety
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Fatality data
In Australia, police report road fatalities to the State and Territory road safety authorities. The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) then catalogues this data in the Australian Road Deaths Database (ARDD).[42]
Fatalities in NSW
The NSW Centre for Road Safety website publishes daily statistics on road fatalities, including cyclist fatalities. Monthly fatality reports and quarterly serious injury reports are also published.[44] Locations or causes of crashes are not published in permanent datasets for up to a year.[45]
As of November 2025, NSW Police press releases are deleted or disappear after some months, and daily NSW Centre for Road Safety reports are also removed daily. Press releases are republished by other news organisations. There have been attempts to collate press releases and daily reports[46] to avoid inaccurate reporting.[47]
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Cycling organisations
National bodies
National sporting organisation
- AusCycling – the national sporting organisation recognised by the Australian Sports Commission, responsible for the administration of and promotion of the sport of cycling in Australia[48][49]
Other national bodies
- Audax Australia – an organisation that promotes long-distance road cycling
- Better Streets – Australia's peak body for improving our streets
- Bicycle Network – Australia's largest cycling membership organisations (45,000 members, 2015)[50] with offices in Victoria and Tasmania.[51]
- Cycling and Walking Australia and New Zealand (CWANZ) – Australasian lead reference group for walking and bike riding on transport and recreation networks
- Rail Trails Australia/
- We Ride – The Australian Cycling Environmental and Health Foundation
State bodies
Foundations
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Magazines
Awards
The Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards, an initiative of the Cycling Promotion Fund, have been held annually since 2002.[63]
See also
- Australian Cyclists Party
- Bicycle helmets in Australia
- Ciombola, a bike frame company active between 1998 and 2005
- Cycling in New South Wales
- Cycling in Canberra
- Cycling in Sydney
- Cycling in Victoria
- Mountain biking in Australia
References
References and further reading
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