Cycling is back in vogue, a proliferation of dedicated cycling lanes and the continuing expansion of the State’s greenways network leading to something of a resurgence. More people on their bikes means fewer cars on the road; and, given that we need to reduce our overall transport emissions by 51 per cent by 2030, every bike journey counts. Indeed, a 2021 global study found that cyclists had a staggering 84 per cent lower life-cycle CO2 emissions than non-cyclists.
In 2025 alone, €360 million has been allocated to walking and cycling infrastructure in the State, including new greenway sections and an expansion of the Safe Routes to School Programme. But it is clear that we have some catching up to do: figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that in 2021, almost three quarters (74.4 per cent) of respondents to a national survey never cycled, a more than 10 per cent decrease from 2019. Just one in 25 people cycled at least five times a week.
And with only 2 per cent of trips taken by bicycle in 2022, the State is still “very far away” from realising its ambitions for cycling as a transport mode of choice, says Robert Egan, a research fellow based in the Centre for Transport Research at Trinity College Dublin (TCD).
Yet he maintains that cycling can meaningfully contribute to the decarbonisation of our transport system, as well as to achieving wider policy goals relating to physical activity and environmental health.
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“While the electrification of vehicles is the Government’s primary measure to reduce Ireland’s transport emissions, increasing active travel-mode share by 50 per cent is an integral part of the national strategy to reduce private car trips from 72 per cent in 2018 to 53 per cent of mode share in 2030,” says Egan.
Dublin City Council, for example, aims to reduce private-vehicle mode share from 29 per cent to 17 per cent between 2019 and 2028. To achieve this, the council aims to more than double the level of cycling from 6 per cent to 13 per cent; this contrasts with its more modest goals for walking (11 per cent to 13 per cent) and public transport (54 per cent to 57 per cent).
Rather than being a direct car replacement, however, Egan notes that cycling can be best understood as one key element of a multi-modal transport system that can serve the needs of everyday life without a car.
“In this system, cycling is ideal for short- and medium-distance journeys for adults and youth alike,” he says. “It can also be used to access public transport, particularly rail transport, unlocking the flexibility of the bicycle for local journeys with the speed of the train for longer journeys.”
The CSO research showed that there are practical barriers to cycling, such as the weather, fears about safety, and having to travel long distances where cycling isn’t really a viable option. Brian Caulfield is a professor in transportation in the department of civil, structural and environmental engineering at TCD and a strong advocate for sustainable transport solutions. He says there are simple steps that could be taken; for example, reducing speed limits in towns and villages to 30km/h. “That’s been shown to be successful right across the world in terms of reducing fatalities and reducing accidents.”
When it comes to cycling long distances, e-bikes and cargo bikes have come down significantly in price in recent years; these allow for travelling longer distances and taking bigger loads, Caulfield adds.
“Cargo bikes have an awful lot of potential, and they could be used for shopping or for ferrying kids around,” he says. “The sales of cargo bikes have skyrocketed over the past couple of years.”
Caulfield is leading the Robust electric shared mobility hubs trial project. This initiative will see hub infrastructure comprising EV charge points, electric cars and e-bikes, including e-cargo bikes, installed in Dublin, Sligo, Waterford and Galway, with the aim of fundamentally changing transport behaviours.
“At these hubs, people can get access to an electric bike, an electric cargo bike, or an electric car – whatever mobility option they want, it’s there for them to use,” Caulfield explains. “Maybe somebody’s thinking about buying an electric bike or an electric cargo bike, or even an electric car. It gives them access to one of these vehicles so that they can use it at a low cost.”
Similar projects have been carried out in towns and cities elsewhere in Europe with great success, says Caulfield. “The idea of it is this concept of ‘car shedding’, where people see this alternative as something that’s viable, that’s located near them, and they think, ‘I don’t need to be spending money on running a car; I could just join this hub, and if I need a car, I could get a car, if I need a bike, I can get a bike’.”
