Cyclists and cars on the rise, new Hobart transport survey reveals
Hobart’s Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds has said there is “an appetite” for bike infrastructure, with a new transport survey indicating both more bike and car trips. The data explained.
Tasmania
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The number of people taking daily bicycle trips across Greater Hobart has increased by more than 50 per cent compared to five years ago but the use of private cars also continues to rise, a sweeping new survey has found.
The 2023 Greater Hobart Household Travel Survey collected data from 3361 randomly sampled households across Brighton, Clarence, Glenorchy, Hobart, Sorell, and parts of Kingborough and the Derwent Valley.
A total of 7708 local residents aged five and over were surveyed in July, September, October, and November last year.
Respondents were asked to keep a one-day travel diary, recording the different modes of transport they took in a single weekday and the purposes of their travel.
The survey was last conducted in 2019 – before the Covid pandemic – and had a smaller sample size of 2036 participating households.
In 2023, a 54.9 per cent increase in daily bicycle trips was recorded in Greater Hobart, rising from 5100 trips in 2019 to 7900 in 2023.
There was a 15 per cent spike in Hobartians driving a private vehicle for weekday travel, with 403,500 trips in the latest survey compared to 350,300 five years ago.
Public transport usage saw a modest increase of 3.3 per cent, while there was a 13.4 per cent increase in walking trips.
The state government has set a target of 10 per cent of work trips being made via public transport by 2030. In 2023, this figure was at 7 per cent.
The results are likely to further fuel the debate around the Hobart City Council’s planned two-year trial of a bike lane on Collins St between Molle and Murray streets, which would remove about 50 car parks.
Bicycle Network Tasmania public affairs manager Alison Hetherington said people’s growing penchant for cycling was “not surprising” and was spurred on by the Covid lockdowns, affordable e-bikes, cost-of-living pressures, and the financial burden of owning a car.
“It’s interesting to see the number of girls riding has skyrocketed as has trips by people aged over 36, which have doubled since 2019,” she said.
“The interest in riding is there and if we link up the network of safer cycling infrastructure then more people will have the choice to ride.”
The survey found that daily bike trips in the Hobart local government area grew from 3200 in 2019 to 4800 last year, which was an increase of 50 per cent.
It also showed that 41.6 per cent of daily trips – no matter the mode of transport used – ended in the city, which was more than double the second-highest council area of Clarence.
Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said the rising number of cycling trips demonstrated there was “an appetite among residents for better bicycle infrastructure”.
“The City of Hobart’s transport team will continue to analyse this data as we look to create a city with greater modal choice and continue to encourage uptake of walking, cycling and public transport,” she said.
Transport Minister Eric Abetz last month announced that the government was pulling $170,000 in funding for the Collins St bike lane trial but the council is pushing ahead with its plan regardless.
Mr Abetz said the new survey provided “important insights” into transport usage in Hobart and the results showed that “while we are seeing some improvement in public transport usage, more work needs to be done”.
“The Greater Hobart Travel Survey provides important insights into the transport options that Tasmanians are using and the results demonstrate while we are seeing some improvement in public transport usage, more work needs to be done,” Mr Abetz said.
The minister said the decision to withdraw funding for the Collins St trial was based on “overwhelming” community feedback and that the government was still providing $120,000 for other active transport projects in the Hobart area.
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