KEY POINTS:
The number of people cycling to work and school in Auckland has risen steadily and more than 9000 people commute by bicycle in the morning peak period.
The figure marks a 7 per cent increase since last year, and builds on an increase of 6 per cent between 2005 and 2006.
Monitoring for the Auckland Regional Transport Authority in March tallied 9019 cyclists using 69 intersections in the seven councils during the morning and evening peak. Of those, 88 per cent were adults.
The authority suggests that combined with latest Census data that found 5000 Aucklanders cycling to work, at least 14,000 cycle trips are made to and from work and school in the region each day.
Cycling Advocates Network spokesman Stephen McKernon said the results were no surprise. Cyclist numbers had been increasing steadily over the last two decades, he said, although most were recreational cyclists.
"People are starting to get sick of congestion and they're looking for alternatives that are quicker. It now takes about the same time to cycle as it does to drive for many city routes.
"When there's more congestion traffic speeds slow down. So a lot of cyclists feel safer with slower traffic even though there are more cars."
Most, however, chose to remain recreational cyclists as riding in traffic could be quite unpleasant with problems such as poor road design and bad behaviour by motorists.
"The issue for a lot of people is more practical things like showers and security for the bike at work."
The authority's goal is a 100 per cent growth in the number of cycle trips by 2016. It is embarking on a $100 million programme to build over half the region's cycle network by 2016 to encourage more people to cycle.
"At the moment, 1 per cent of trips to work and 2 per cent of trips to school are by cycle. This data provides a solid base to prioritise improvements to double that figure by 2016," said general manager of strategy and planning Peter Clark.
"Cycling is better for the environment and great for health and fitness."
