Cycling Brisbane

Design Feature

Type of project

Local Government Initiative

State

Queensland

Location

Urban

Cycling Brisbane is a behaviour change and promotion initiative directed by Brisbane City Council (BCC) to encourage residents to ride more often. The initiative works closely with Council’s bikeway planners to promote new and existing bikeway infrastructure, as part of the Better Bikeways for Brisbane program.
The Cycling Brisbane program includes a mix of marketing campaigns, free workshops for people to improve their bike riding skills, an online route planner and other web-based resources. The free membership program provides exclusive discounts to businesses operating locally and a monthly newsletter to keep members updated on the latest bikeway projects and promotions.
Launched in March 2014, the program now has over 18,000 members and growing. Information and resources are published on the website.

Riding towards a more active city

Cycling Brisbane was developed after Council identified the need for a single program to consolidate various information and resources that refer to cycling in Brisbane.
Cycling Brisbane’s objectives include:

Increasing the take-up of bike riding and the number of trips taken by bike.
Activating Council’s bikeways.
Overcoming key barriers through providing information, skills training and events, an online route planner and other advice.
Partnering with a range of organisations and events to raise the profile of riding across Brisbane.

Evaluation of the program is ongoing and current measurements include:

Number of members and sponsors.
Number of participants at bike skills sessions and guided rides, and level of participant satisfaction.

Number of trips taken by bicycle, as measured by the results from the National Cycling Participation Survey and bikeway counters.
Online surveys of sponsors and members.
Social media engagement metrics including number of Instagram followers, use of #cyclingbne hashtag, E-news open rates and website statistics.

Project team

Cycling Brisbane
BCC - Public and Active Transport Planning
BCC - City Projects Office
BCC - Connected Communities
BCC - Corporate Communications
BCC - Active School Travel
Bicycle Queensland
TRACTION
Professional cycling instructors
Sponsor businesses and organisations

Project Cost

##
Annual budget $423,000

Health value

The program offers health value by advocating for and building capacity in the context of cycling infrastructure and information.

Economic value

Cycling Brisbane has sponsor contracts with a variety of local businesses to offer members discounts on bicycle purchasing, accessories, services and dining. Cycling Brisbane promotes these businesses on the website.
With the large investment made by Brisbane City Council in constructing bikeway infrastructure, there are economic benefits to promoting their use and communicating bikeway locations to new riders.

Environmental value

Cycling for transport provides environmental benefits through reduced congestion, reduced vehicle emissions and better air quality due to fewer cars on the road.

Social value

The events held by Cycling Brisbane provide opportunities for community members to lead interactive and socially connected lives. There are workshops hosted for various demographic groups, including those targeting women, youth and older people.
In 2018, workshops will be trialled for recent migrants, children learning to ride and for people to experience an electric bike. This is in addition to over 150 free sessions for mountain biking, bike maintenance and guided rides that are scheduled each year.

Use value

Cycling Brisbane is a public program that provides many opportunities for Brisbane residents to learn to ride a bike, and to keep riding, to maintain health and wellbeing. It is free to become a member and attend the skills sessions.
Cycling Brisbane’s online Route Planner is the most popular section of the website and attracts approximately 1,200 visits per week, with people planning their journeys on Brisbane’s bikeway network. There is also a Cycling Brisbane instagram account which has weekly guest curators from Brisbane’s bike-riding community. The images reflect the diversity of riders and their passion for bike riding.
Attendance at public events is another key way that the program connects with the broader community. You will find the Cycling Brisbane team at events such Brisbane’s twice-yearly Green Heart Fairs, university open days and popping up alongside local neighbourhood bikeways from 2018.

References

\- Cycling Brisbane

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