.“Australian bicycle sales have shown amazing strength throughout the global recession,” said Stephen Hodge, spokesperson for the Cycling Promotion Fund.

“The fact that bike sales have held up so strongly thoughout the last year indicates that Australians are aware of the benefits of cycling and want to ride.

“Governments at all levels have been investing in cycling infrastructure which is critical to lowering the barriers to getting more people active on bikes. But more needs to be done,” Hodge added.

2009 was a significant year for cycling infrastructure with the $40 million Bike Paths Fund part of the Commonwealth’s stimulus package and substantial State government investment.

“But the surging interest in cycling and continuing strong sales of bicycles warrant significant ongoing investment if we are going to address the obesity epidemic, provide alternative transport options and make our communities better places to live,” Hodge said.

“With petrol prices expected to continue rising in 2010 cycling provides a cheap, healthy and environmentally friendly option for the many shorts trips Australians make each day.

“Provision of high quality bicycle infrastructure costs a fraction of other transport modes and increasingly makes sense when all benefits are taken into account.”

FAST FACTS

• Over 50% of car trips in Australian cities are under 5km and 30% are less than 3 km.
• Transport is responsible for 34% of household greenhouse gas emissions
• 1.59 million Australians adults cycled in 2007 (9.7% of the population)
• The Australian Bicycle Industry is worth approximately $1 billion and employs an estimated 6,000 people.

Year	Motor Vehicles#	Bicycles*	Bikes lead	Year	Motor Vehicles#	Bicycles*	Bikes lead
2009	937,328	1,154,077	23%	2004	955,229	1,247,991	31%
2008	1,012,164	1,203,648	19%	2003	909,811	1,003,844	10%
2007	1,049,982	1,427,738	36%	2002	824,309	1,109,736	34%
2006	962,521	1,273,781	32%	2001	772,681	774,938	0.30%
2005	988,269	1,168,601	18%

 # VFACTS
* Australian Customs import figures released this week show that 1,154,077 bicycles were imported into Australia in 2009. With negligible domestic production, imports are used as a proxy for sales in this country and the figures show an increased margin of 23% more bikes sold than cars in the past year with more than 10 times the number of bicycles sold than motor bikes (115,981 in 2009, www.FCAI.com.au).

Media inquiries:  Stephen Hodge 0411 149 910

Erratum: The Cycling Promotion Fund regrets that one figure released earlier in this media release was incorrect.  This error has now been corrected.

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