Cycling traffic down 2.6% in England, but bigger picture is positive

Cycling traffic numbers decreased modestly in 2024, down 2.6% compared to the previous year (measured to the month of September).

Longer-term, it was a more positive picture, with cycling traffic up 9.4% since the year ending December 2013.

Unsurprisingly, numbers were down compared to the cycling traffic peak seen during the Covid lockdowns. During that time, numbers were up 62.8% (in the year ending March 2021, compared with 2013). 2024 was down 32.8% on that Covid lockdown peak.

Cycling is officially defined as any cycling journey taking place on the public highway and the paths next to them.

Weathering the statistics

In 2024, the Met Office judged that the UK’s spring was very wet and summer started wet too, but there were wide regional variations. On the face of it, the wetter weather does appear to have impacted cycling traffic levels – widely believed by the cycling industry to be the biggest factor in getting the cycling public to spend.

It was the wettest September on record for some English counties, and England saw 20% more rainfall than average in autumn. Five of the ten wettest years for the UK were within the 21st century (records began in 1836). In further rain-based statistics, 2014-2023 was 20% wetter than 1961-1990.

The volume of cycling traffic might not automatically correlate to sales volumes in the cycling industry, though logic would indicate that more riders riding would equal more sales or workshop jobs to keep bikes road/trail-worthy.

Aside from 2024’s modest decline, the expansion of cyclist numbers by circa 10% in 10 years is a huge positive, perhaps even hinting at a broadening of the demographic that considers that cycling is ‘for them’.