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Cycling participation in Queensland Also see cycling participation in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Mandatory bicycle helmet laws were introduced in Queensland for all ages from 1 July 1991 but not enforced by police until 1 January 1993 including a six month penalty waiver for offenders who could prove they had purchased a helmet within 14 days of the offence.
The data above from the Queensland Road Crash Database suggest that average non-head cyclist injuries in 1993-95 (total 503) were 18.3% less than in 1990-92 (616), indicating a similar decline in cycling participation exposure.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics data above from the 1986, 1991 and 2001 Census shows the number of Queenslanders who rode a bicycle to work fell 11.8% from 22,964 in pre-law 1991 to 20,252 in 2001, despite Queensland population growth of 22.6% between those years (2,960,951 to 3,628,946).
Australian Bureau of Statistics Census percentage data reflect the figures above and show the popularity of commuter cycling in Queensland continued to decline till 2011. Below is extracted from A New Direction for Cycling in Queensland published 2013 by the Queensland parliament's Transport, Housing and Local Government Committee which recommended a two year trial repeal of adult helmet laws on cycle paths and roads with a speed limit below 60kmh - subsequently rejected by the Queensland Minister for Transport.
The data above illustrate how BikeShare schemes in Australia have failed by comparison with other countries, particularly in the city of Brisbane. Below is extracted from Day to Day Travel in Australia 1985-86 published 1988 by the Federal Office of Road Safety.
Across Queensland, the data above suggest that when surveyed over the full 12 months of 1985/86 including winter, there were 321,900 bike trips per day by Queensland cyclists aged 9+. Below is extracted from 2011 Australian Cycling Participation published by Austroads and the Australian Bicycle Council.
Across Queensland, the data above suggest that when surveyed in the warm months of March and April, 490,619 people in Queensland aged 10+ cycled per week in 2011, which equates (multiplied by an average 6.1 trips per week in Queensland divided by seven days) to an average 427,539 trips per day. Compared to the 321,900 in 1985/86, this represents an increase of 32.8% from 1985/86 to 2011, with the population of Queensland increasing 74.6% from 1986 to 2011 (2,587,315 to 4,516,361). It should be noted that 1985/86 was seven years before helmet law enforcement in Queensland. The tables below show state percentages of cycling weekly, monthly and yearly based on 2011 Australian Cycling Participation, 2013 Australian Cycling Participation, 2015 Australian Cycling Participation, 2017 Australian Cycling Participation and 2019 Australian Cycling Participation published by Austroads and the Australian Bicycle Council.
The data above show there was a decrease in Queensland weekly cycling participation from 2011 to 2019 - down from 18.1% to 13.5%, while monthly cycling declined from 25.8% to 22.0% and yearly cycling declined from 37.9% to 35.6%. Aged 9+, the data above suggest weekly bike trips declined 29.3% from 1985/86 to 2019 (321,900 > 227,678), despite Queensland 9yo+ population growth of 104.2% from 1985 to 2019 (2,208,715 > 4,509,584). All road and telephone survey data above suggest a decline in Queensland cycling participation which is ongoing till 2019 on a per capita basis. Also see cycling participation in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. |
