More bikes than cars on Glasgow main road at rush hour for first time, figures show

More bikes than cars were recorded on a main southside road during rush hour for the first time in June, as figures show a surge in cycling trips across the city.

Cycling Scotland reported data from Victoria Road showed more journeys were cycled rather than driven between 8am and 9am on Thursday, June 5.

It is the first time this has been recorded during traffic surveys at this location on the South City Way cycle route — and the national cycling charity believes it shows “the continuing impact of new cycling infrastructure on Victoria Road”.

During that rush hour, 269 bikes were recorded compared to 256 cars. A daily average of 2,040 cycle journeys were recorded on the road over the survey period, with 13 per cent of journeys made by bike.

The data comes from Cycling Scotland’s all-mode traffic surveys, which are carried out over a 48-hour period at sites across the city. They are conducted twice a year, in May and September, however the Victoria Road data was recaptured on June 5 and 6 due to “technical issues” with the initial survey.

Across all 14 Glasgow sites, the share of journeys by cars was almost 55 per cent with pedestrians at 27 per cent and cyclists just under five per cent.

Cycling Scotland also highlighted how more than 1,000 bike journeys a day were recorded on the recently completed Byres Road cycle lanes, connecting Dumbarton Road to University Avenue.

The figures come amid a boom in active travel, according to Glasgow City Council, with 4.65 million cycling trips recorded between January and August this year — a 43 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

The council data has been collected from 88 automatic cycle counters across the city. Last year, almost 3,246,000 trips were recorded while, in 2025, there were 4,653,713.

Cllr Angus Millar, SNP, city convener for transport, said: “These figures show that more and more Glaswegians are choosing active travel to get about the city — a clear sign that our investment in walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure is making a real difference.

“The very significant rise in cycle trips recorded this year comes after a bumper year of delivery in new infrastructure — with the opening of the Govan-Partick bridge, the extension of the Connecting Battlefield project linking up much of the southside, and various projects completed in the north, west and east end of the city.

“We know that when we build safer, high-quality cycle infrastructure, many people feel more confident to choose the bike as an option for everyday journeys.”

New infrastructure includes the Govan-Partick bridge which opened in September 2024 and has recorded over 1.4 million crossings. One in five of these journeys were made by cyclists.

Data on bridge crossings is recorded separately to the 88 automatic counters.

The council has also been working to deliver safer cycling routes and upgraded footways. Recently completed projects include the South City Way — a 3km fully segregated cycle route from Queen’s Park to Trongate — and Connecting Battlefield, which provides access to Queen’s Park and the New Victoria Hospital and links with the South City Way.

A second phase is due to begin at the end of the month, focusing on Grange Road and the Battlefield Rest junction. Main construction is set to start next year.

Other schemes include a road layout transformation on the George V bridge and the redesign of the Charing Cross junction in Woodside, with a new link between Sauchiehall Street and St George’s Road.

A two-way cycle lane is being constructed along the St George’s Road corridor to connect with Garscube Road and the Byres Road public realm improvements project is now in phase two, delivering protected cycleways which will form a continuous route between Great Western Road and Partick Cross.

Construction is also under way on the Argyle Street West Avenue scheme, stretching from the Kingston Bridge to the junction of Argyle Street, Jamaica Street and Union Street.

Designs are being worked on for Connecting Greater Govan, an active travel route on West Nile Street and the NCN7 cycle network, which will link Smith Street in Whiteinch with the Riverside Museum.