Yes — Sydney’s bike lanes get more people riding, and it isn’t close. Every time the city builds a separated, protected cycleway, the numbers jump. The City of Sydney counted a record 55,030 bike trips in a single day in March 2025 — up 7% on the year before and 187% higher than 2010 — and the new Oxford Street cycleway passed one million trips in its first ten months. Build a lane people feel safe in, and Sydneysiders ride it.
Do separated bike lanes actually increase riding in Sydney?
They do, and the counters prove it. The City of Sydney’s March 2025 survey recorded 55,030 daily bike trips, up from 51,271 in March 2024 and just 19,152 in 2010 — a 187% rise in fifteen years, according to Bicycle NSW. Eight of the City’s ten busiest bike intersections sit on separated cycleways. The sharpest proof is Oxford Street: opened in August 2025, it now averages roughly 3,000 riders a day, set a 24-hour record of 4,840, and passed one million trips within ten months — already the City’s most-used cycleway.
Why won’t more Sydneysiders ride without a protected lane?
Because most people aren’t afraid of cycling — they’re afraid of traffic. Transport for NSW research found that 70% of Greater Sydney residents would ride, or ride more, if there were safe cycleways separated from traffic (reported by Bicycle NSW). The City of Sydney’s own survey put it at 68% of potential riders, and in Western Sydney the City of Parramatta found more than 75% would need separated infrastructure to feel safe. Planners call this group the “interested but concerned” — the quiet majority who own a bike but won’t take it into four lanes of moving cars. A painted line beside traffic doesn’t reach them. A kerb-separated lane does.
Doesn’t giving road space to bikes just make traffic worse?
It’s a trade-off worth naming honestly: a cycleway often takes a parking lane or a traffic lane, and that space isn’t free. But a protected bike lane moves far more people per metre of street than a general traffic lane, because a bike takes a fraction of the room a car does. There’s a safety dividend too — the Lord Mayor noted Oxford Street had the most reported bike crashes in the area before the cycleway went in, and separating riders from traffic cut that conflict. Reallocating a sliver of road to bikes is one of the few moves that genuinely adds people-moving capacity, rather than watching a new car lane fill straight back up. For the bigger picture, see what Sydney’s bike lanes can learn from Paris.
What does this mean for your Sydney commute?
The lane gives you the safety; an e-bike gives you the range. A protected cycleway makes the first few kilometres feel doable, and an e-bike stretches that into a genuine cross-suburb commute without arriving drenched. That’s exactly what the Cyberbikes Centauro is built for: a 250W motor and a UL 2271-certified 48V 25Ah (1,200Wh) Samsung battery for long-range riding, priced at $3,999 or rent-to-own from $99.99/week. If you want the full playbook for ditching the car, read our guide to car-free e-bike commuting in Sydney.
Sydney’s cycleway network is still a patchwork, but the pattern is unarguable: where the safe lane goes, the riders follow. Swap one car trip a week for a ride on a protected lane and see what changes. If you’re ready to be part of a car-lighter Sydney, come and see us at Cyberbikes, 281 Parramatta Road, Leichhardt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do bike lanes increase the number of cyclists in Sydney?
Yes. City of Sydney counts reached a record 55,030 daily bike trips in March 2025, up 187% since 2010, and eight of the ten busiest bike intersections are on separated cycleways.
How busy is Sydney’s Oxford Street cycleway?
Since opening in August 2025 it has averaged about 3,000 riders a day, set a 24-hour record of 4,840, and passed one million trips in its first ten months, making it the City’s most-used cycleway.
Would more people ride if Sydney had safer bike lanes?
Transport for NSW research found 70% of Greater Sydney residents would ride, or ride more, if there were safe cycleways separated from traffic.
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