As reported in the Sunday Times on 11 May 2025
Cycling Scotland traffic survey data revealing the significant positive impact that new protected cycle lanes are having in Scotland, has been featured in the The Sunday Times ['The next Copenhagen? Inside Scotland’s cycling revolution', 12 May 2025].
Exploring the growth in cycling being seen in locations across Scotland - supported by investment in new, high-quality protected cycle lanes - the article shares our findings on how new landmark routes in Glasgow and Edinburgh are helping more people to travel by bike for everyday journeys.
Key findings referenced in the article, and first published in March 2025, include:
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46% increase in cycling on Glasgow's Victoria Road (South City Way) from 2023 to 2024: Over a 48-hour period in September 2024, Cycling Scotland traffic surveys recorded 5,457 bikes on the South City Way cycle route in the south of Glasgow. This is 1,700 more cycle journeys than were recorded in the same 48-hour survey period one year before in September 2023.
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15% of journeys on Victoria Road were by bike – a new record cycling modal share for an urban street in Scotland. These 5,457 bikes were out of a total of 36,417 travel methods.
- 83% increase in cycling on Edinburgh's City Centre West to East Link (CCWEL) from 2024 to 2025: A 48-hour snapshot of traffic in January 2025 recorded a total of 2,199 people cycling on the West Coates section between Roseburn and Haymarket Station – 1,000 more bike journeys compared to the same 48-hour survey period in January 2024.
Keith Irving, Cycling Scotland Chief Executive, commenting in the article, said:
“What we see clearly from the data is that when Scotland builds networks of dedicated cycling lanes that take people safely from A to B, more people travel by bike. There has been huge growth in numbers of people cycling on new routes, including the City Centre West to East Link route in Edinburgh, and Glasgow’s South City Way route."
Put simply, we know that road safety is the single biggest barrier to more people cycling, and the success of new landmark routes shows clearly that investing in safe, well-connected, cycling lanes is helping more people to travel efficiently and affordably.
“It benefits our health, reducing harmful pollution and our impact on the climate. We need more safe cycling routes just like these, to bring these advantages to more people across Scotland.”
“In countries which continue to invest in everyday cycling, more people travel by bike in towns, cities and rural locations. There’s no reason that the success seen in Amsterdam, Copenhagen — or more recently in Paris — can’t be replicated in Scotland.”
Read the full article, published on 11 May 2025, in The Sunday Times.
