A recent count of people riding bikes in the morning peak has shown that poor access to the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway is deterring female bike riders.
As part of the Super Tuesday Bike Count, Bicycle Network counted the number of people dragging their bikes up the Sydney Harbour Bridge steps between 7am and 9am
While a total of 906 bike riders were counted, only 11% were women.
According to Super Tuesday data, the percentage of women riding on the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway is not only below the national average of 21%, it’s well below the average for NSW of 18%.
It’s important to count the number of women riding because a high proportion of female bike riders is a strong indication of the health of a city’s cycling environment. The higher the proportion, the better the cycling infrastructure.
In the top international cycling cities, women tend to comprise around 50% of cycling numbers.
Bicycle Network has long campaigned for a ramp to be built to enable more people to ride across the Harbour Bridge, and lent it’s support to the Bicycle NSW petition to overturn the decision to delay starting for two years.
See our campaign to fix the Sydney Harbour Bridge steps
We strongly believe that bike infrastructure should be accessible for all, regardless of your age or the type of bike you ride.
But sadly, when it comes to the Sydney Harbour Bridge steps, many riders don’t have an alternative way to ride other than jumping on a ferry, which means that many are choosing other transport modes.
Building a ramp and replacing the steps cannot come quick enough for the people who ride across the bridge it or want to ride across it each day.
Take action - join the campaign
#Togetherwecan fix the Sydney Harbour Bridge steps.