We fact check the claim no-one uses Glasgow's cycle lanes.

Glasgow Times

29-06-2025

Segregated bike lanes have been under construction in Glasgow for a number of years.
Some are complete, others are underway and more are being extended.
Much of the new Avenues Project to redesign the city centre streets involves segregated cycle lanes in line with the Connectivity Commission recommendation to prioritise space in a hierarchy of walking, wheeling and cycling above private car use.
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Not everyone in the city, however, is in four of this approach.
The aim is to provide a safe space for cycling to encourage more people who say they want to but are put off by the risks of cycling on roads with cars and lorries.
Many of the comments and criticism of the lanes is based on the observation that 'no-one ever uses the cycle lanes'.
(Image: newsquest)
The Glasgow Times decided to fact-check these claims and ask the question: Does anyone use the cycle lanes?
Cycling Scotland has a data map of cycle counters at various points across the city.
We can see how many people use the bike lanes.
We look at points on the main routes, the South City Way, West City Way and other strategic points like bridge crossings and the Sauchiehall Street lane, the first to be completed.
The data gives the average daily and weekly number of cyclists who pass at each location.
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Some still have a low number passing through, while others are high.
Sauchiehall Street cycle lane posted an average weekly cycle count of 6552.
On Thursday June26 at 4.24pm, the counter showed 472 had passed by eastbound and 128,421 for the year so far.
Westbound it 286 for the day and 101,925 for the year.
(Image: newsquest)
On a short walk from one end to the other, we counted 18 cycles in under five minutes. Half were delivery drivers.
The South City Way from Queens Park into the city centre is heralded as one of the success stories.
Its average weekly bike count at Victoria Road/Calder Street was the highest at 13,573.
At the city centre end of the route at Victoria Bridge showed 10,199 a week.
Others were also in the thousands, including Garscube Road at Possil Road, with 6398 a week, and at the Cowcaddens end, 4886.
Glasgow Green, which links cycle lanes at Bridgeton and Clyde Street, counted 8820 a week.
Others had lower numbers but were obviously being used, just not as much.
The East City Way travels along London Road.
At the junction with Fielding Street the counter picker up 2114 a week on average. Further east at Springfield Road it was 1715.
St Andrews Drive in the southside had 1106 and Kelvin Way, while not a cycle lane but is closed to traffic, had 1596.
Some are low, in the hundreds.
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Archerhill Road, in Knightswood, posted an average 224 bikes a week.
The Abert Bridge over the River Clyde in the City Centre, one of the many available crossings, showed 994 a week, and the George V Bridge had 693 bikes.
The expectation is that once the networks are complete and less of a journey has to be done on road, more people will use the routes.
There are many more cycle lanes than the ones above and more are being created, particularly in the city centre with the avenues project in Argyle Street and the area around George Square.
Other data points towards cycling increasing in the city.
Glasgow, like many other cities, has an on-street bike hire scheme and it has seen an increase in usage, particularly in the last year and a half.
The scheme began in 2014 and in the first four years recorded just under half a million hires.
By Spring 2022, the number of journeys had gone above 1.5 million.
The scheme said almost one million trips have been made in the last 20 months alone and in August last year, rentals for both standard bikes and e-bikes were averaging almost 2000 per day.
Barriers to cycling remain, including weather, transporting goods and possessions and safety.
Cycling Scotland Attitudes and Behaviours Towards Cycling in Scotland 2022 survey found 56% agreed that the roads near where they live are too busy to cycle safely.
Around half (48%) agreed they have never considered cycling to get around, and only a third (33%) agreed they would consider cycling for some of the journeys they make.
The top four barriers to cycling remain unchanged over time: - Poor weather (78%) - Not practical for carrying things (75%) - Not feeling safe on roads (68%) - Insufficient cycle lanes / traffic free options (57%).
While barriers to cycling remain, and some cycle lanes are clearly being used more than others, the statistics, as well as the evidence of own eyes, show Glasgow's cycle lanes are being used.