Londoners took to their bikes in massive numbers during the Olympics to escape packed Tubes and buses, figures reveal today.
As the Tube carried the greatest number of passengers in its history, the number of cyclists on the capital’s streets was 19 per cent higher than the same two-week period last year.
There was an even bigger rise during the Paralympics — which coincided with the end of the school holidays — when 32 per cent more Londoners travelled by bike.
During the Games, there was a 43 per cent rise in the use of Boris bikes, with an average 40,575 hires a day, said the Transport for London research.
Its annual Travel in London report said more than 700,000 people a day cycled during the summer, underlining a nine per cent shift from cars to public transport, walking and cycling since 2000. On the Tube, more than 62 million journeys were made during the Olympics, 35 per cent higher than normal summer levels. Tuesday, August 7 was the busiest day in the history of the Underground, when it carried 4.7 million passengers.
The figures reveal the number of cyclists being killed or seriously injured in 2011 rose 22 per cent — more than four times the 5.2 per cent increase in people cycling. Sixteen cyclists were killed and 555 seriously injured.
The London Cycling Campaign said the statistics supported its call for “Dutch-style” segregated cycle lanes. “A real legacy for the Olympics would be if Boris Johnson stood by his 2012 election promises to redesign our streets and junctions to make cycling and walking in London safe and inviting for everyone,” said a spokesman.
The number of road deaths in 2011 rose by 26 per cent, from 126 to 159. Of these, 77 were pedestrians, 19 more than in 2010. A total of 24,443 collisions resulting in injury were reported to the police — up one per cent.
