Bicycle Network: Measure & Understand

Return on investment

Now that municipalities are investing substantial sums in developing bike riding, it is appropriate to develop formal methods of reviewing progress and the return on investment.

Copenhagen has been doing this for more than a decade. They track quantifiable data such as:

• number of riders, length of trip and speed
• casualties, parking provision,
• length, width and condition of bike facilities.

They also monitor the perceptions of riders about risk, parking and the ease of combining a bike journey with a public transport trip.

Over time they are able to see long term trends as well as developing trends that need attention or reinforcement. For example they have been able to see that general satisfaction has risen but that other factors such as congestion on the bike routes have reduce some specific measures of satisfaction.

In Australia

The City of Melbourne is preparing and publishing a regular Bicycle Account. The Darebin Council has received a report that has similar characteristics to a Bicycle Account.

How Copenhagen sees it

'The Bicycle Account is an assessment of cycling development in the City of Copenhagen. The Account consequently deals with city cycling conditions, new initiatives as well as the way in which the Copenhageners themselves perceive cycling facilities. The Bicycle Account is published bi-annually. This year’s Bicycle Account is based on 2008 statistics and includes telephone interviews with 1,025 randomly selected Copenhagen residents as well as data from the DTU Transport Survey of Transport Behaviour. The Bicycle Account 2008 is the eighth of its kind. The Bicycle Account is aimed at Copenhagen residents, among others, who, hopefully, will be able to make use of it as a source of inspiration. For the City of Copenhagen the Bicycle Account is a vital planning tool in the work of making Copenhagen an even better city for cyclists.' From the introduction to the 2008 Bicycle Strategy.

Bicycle Account: City of Melbourne

In 2007 the City of Melbourne released the inaugural Melbourne Bicycle Account – Cycling Census 2007, delivering on an identified action as part of their 2007-11 Bicycle Strategy.

Darebin Cycling Strategy: Annual Progress Report – 2007/2008

This report has many of the characteristics of a Bicycle Account. A full Bicycle Account would also contain qualitative data from riders.