FAQ

The Cycling Open Data portal is the most comprehensive collection of cycling data of its kind in Scotland. It hosts clear, free to access, up-to-date data from a wide range of sources.

The portal currently hosts a wide range of datasets including:

Scottish Government data – Transport Scotland, Key Reported Road Casualties, Scottish Household Survey, Transport and Travel in Scotland

Cycling Scotland data - Annual Cycling Monitoring Report, Bikeability Scotland, The Big Count, Cycling Friendly

National Monitoring Framework - Cycling Scotland automatic counters, 36,000 hours of Cycling Scotland Traffic Surveys

Third Party data - Local Authority automatic cycling counters, bike rental schemes, cordon counts, Sustrans, John Muir Way automatic cycling counters

The data is always evolving as partners and users submit their own data.

Accessing real-time data is very simple. This video explains how to find and access the data you’re looking for.

To make informed decisions, it’s essential that we have access to relevant and reliable data. Better access to data will mean more evidence-based decision making. 

By making data freely available for everyone to access and use, transparency in decision making is assured. Open data also allows for more collaborative work, creating relationships and partnerships across the country. 

You can – the data is free to access, download and re-publish.

Cycling open data can support research, policy and decision making at all levels. To set ambitious goals for cycling policy and to justify investments in cycling infrastructure, decision makers require a sound base of data.

Whether at a local, regional or national level, it helps decision makers to have easy access to data that is relevant to them and the portal brings together the data in one place.

The portal contains real-time data (or in our case data delayed by a day or two to ensure accuracy). This is done by pulling cycling data from active travel partners' cycle counter dashboards through an Application Programming Interface (API). As the cycle counts come into the partners' dashboard, they are automatically shared with the portal.

Currently, the portal contains 180,000 days of real-time cycle counter data from the National Monitoring Framework, local authorities, and other active travel partners.

If you have a specific query, you can access the Knowledge Base or contact Cycling Scotland’s Monitoring Officer directly at monitoring@cycling.scot.