Tuesday 3 October, 1-2.00 pm AEDST

The National Walking and Cycling Participation Survey is a survey of the Australian community to understand their participation in walking and cycling. The survey has been run every two years since 2011.

In this webinar, CWANZ will present the 2023 National Walking and Cycling Participation Survey covering its methodology and providing a high-level overview of the results. Presenters will also talk about how the data is used in different states.

Speakers are Cameron Munro, CDM Research, and Fiona Goodbody, Department of Transport, Western Australia.

Presenters:

Dr Cameron Munro | CDM Research
Fiona Goodbody| Coordinator Bike Networks and Programs (Planning and Design Guidance), Department of Transport, Western Australia

#1. The National Walking and Cycling Participation Survey, Dr Cameron Munro

The National Walking and Cycling Participation Survey is a telephone survey of the Australian community to understand their participation in walking and cycling. The survey has been conducted biennially since 2011 as a cycling survey, with walking added in 2021.  One of the attributes of the survey that differentiates it from many other data sources is that it has coverage of all age groups, which is significant given the varying walking and cycling participation rates. The results suggest that cycling participation has generally declined across Australia since 2011 but rebounded strongly in 2021 during the COVID pandemic.  In 2023 the participation rate appears to have regressed back to the pre-COVID level, suggesting the COVID impact was only transitory. Around 15% of the Australian population is estimated to ride a bicycle in a typical week, of which most do so for recreation. The Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia tend to have the highest cycling participation rates. Most Australians (89%) walk outside their home for at least ten minutes in any week. Most do so for recreation or exercise, to go shopping or to a cafe or restaurant.