Strava data shows changes in ‘human-powered’ commutes

Most cyclists in London have used their bikes to commute, according to Strava data released to celebrate Earth Week.

The capital leads the UK for cycling commuters, Strava said. Bristol, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Manchester all see high numbers of human-powered commutes.

The data comes from Strava’s Metro tool. That uses commutes from the app’s tracking of people’s exercises, and then provides that data to 3,500 partners who use it to inform decisions on active travel.

Across the UK, bike commutes saved almost 53 million kg of carbon dioxide, Strava said.

Tuesday is also the most popular day for cycling commutes – with 7am the most popular time – and milennnials are the most active commuters in the UK. More women cyclists plead their commutes than men, the data showed.

Most people said they commute by bike because it lets them exercise at the same time. But 56 per cent of cycle commuters said they also did so to help the environment.

Strava said that the numbers showed the increased focus on people powering their own commutes It is launching a new challenge, dubbed ‘Earth Week’, which will encourage people to log commutes on Strava.

“Strava’s Carbon Savings Tool helps to show our global community the real-world impact of their activities when they tag their trip as a commute. In turn, this helps our Strava Metro team to work with cities and urban planners around the world to secure investment for active transportation that makes every day bicycle trips and commutes safer and more accessible,” said Tom Knights, from Strava Metro.

“For this year’s Earth Day, we are launching a new commute Challenge to encourage our global community to explore active travel. By providing more visibility on carbon savings, we look to inspire individual action towards a common goal of reducing carbon emissions globally. ”