Even in winter people keep cycling: Big increase of cycling levels on EuroVelo network during 1st quarter of 2022

The cycling boom continues: According to fresh numbers from our partner Eco-Counter, usage increased with 18% on the EuroVelo network in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2019. Growth was particularly pronounced during weekends, with an increase of 23%, hinting at the continued popularity of leisure cycling. During the week, usage grew by more than 16% - a very strong result and an indication that, as more people have started their return to the office, utilitarian cycling will reach a new equilibrium at higher levels than before the pandemic. The fact that this is happening during the cold season, a time when cycling rates traditionally are lower than during the rest of the year, is particularly encouraging for further developments during the year, and we are looking forward to providing you with more figures as they come in.

Growth was highest on the river routes EuroVelo 17 – The Rhone Cycle Route and EuroVelo 15 – The Rhine Cycle Route, with both featuring increases of 34% over the whole week. However, all routes in the sample showed some level of growth when looking at the whole week, once again proving that the recent general uptake of cycling is not limited to certain regions, but covers all places in Europe that are reached by EuroVelo routes in the sample.

Information about data collection

This publication on the usage of the EuroVelo network is based on a partnership between ECF and Eco-Counter. The two organisations have joined forces to work together closely in collecting, analysing and communicating data related to the EuroVelo network at the European level. The aggregated results for the usage of the EuroVelo network in the first quarter of 2022 are based on data from a sample of 170 automatic counters installed by Eco-Counter and its local partners. For the sample, we have selected counters where we found that there was a minimum level of representativity, both in number of counters and in number of countries along the route represented. This is currently the case for EuroVelo routes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15 and 17. We publish data on the usage of the network as a whole, and on featured routes, regularly. In the future, we hope to be able to grow this sample and make it even more representative, as more counters are placed along the routes all around Europe.