London’s ‘Square Mile’ sees record-breaking surge in cycling
Posted on in Business News, Cycles News
The City of London’s ‘Square Mile’ has seen the biggest increase in cycling since records began, with daily numbers rising past all previous counts.
Official figures from October 2024 show 139,000 people cycling each day across 30 locations within the bustling ‘Square Mile’ region of the capital – a jump of 50,000 from 2022 that marks a rise of over 50%, the largest since data collection began in 1999.
Footfall is also up by 8% compared to 2022, and cycling, walking, and wheeling now account for three-quarters of all travel activity in the Square Mile, rising to 85% during peak hours.
With nearly twice the number of bikes as cars on London’s streets during the day and cycling making up 56% of all peak commuting traffic, the City of London Corporation has now met three major traffic targets six years ahead of schedule. These include a 70% rise in cycling (target was 50% by 2030), a 34% fall in motor traffic (target was 25%), and a 21% reduction in freight traffic (target was 15%).
In addition to this, four streets have seen cycling levels more than double in just two years, with most of the rise (60%) from personal bikes, while dockless cycles have quadrupled and now represent one in six on the streets.
The record-breaking figures follow broader trends in London, with TfL reporting a 26% increase in cycling city-wide since 2019 and a 12% jump in central London since 2023. In the last year alone, TfL opened 20 new Cycleways, connecting another 600,000 people to the cycle network and supporting this sharp increase in bike travel.
Shravan Joshi, Chairman of the Planning and Transportation Committee at the City of London Corporation, said: “As footfall across the City of London continues to rise, it’s vital our Transport Strategy ensures that it is a safer and more pleasant environment for everyone to travel through. We know this work is making a difference. Our streets are safer with the latest figures showing the lowest number of serious injuries on our streets since records began, but we are not taking our eye off the ball, as there is more work to do.
“Our air quality is improving, too. When we first published our strategy in 2019, 15 locations across the City exceeded our air quality objective for toxic nitrogen dioxide. Last year this figure was down to two.”
Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said: "Enabling more people to cycle improves health, cuts congestion and helps the environment – so it’s key to the Mayor’s vision for transport.
“I’m really excited about this increase in cycling across the City of London, which is great progress towards our goal of increasing cycling journeys to 1.6 million by 2030. The network of cycleways across the capital is continuing to grow, helping unlock safer and more accessible cycling to even more Londoners, supporting the Mayor’s aim for a greener, safer London for all.”
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