Who owns bikes and e-bikes? Insights from a cycling survey in Australia

Cycling provides numerous mental and physical health benefits, and owning a bike is a prerequisite for engaging in cycling activities in most cases. Using data from a 2022 cycling survey (n = 2065), this paper examines bike ownership in Sydney, Australia, including conventional and e-bikes. We find being male, younger age, higher education and income levels, and pos-itive attitude contribute to bike ownership, while paying rent, living in apartments and having foreign origin reduce the likelihood of owning a bike. Young adults aged 25–34 have lower conventional bike ownership than adjacent age groups, but reported highest e-bike ownership, and access to shared bikes among all age groups. E-bike ownership is higher in more urbanized parts of the city. Findings from this paper suggest the need for interventions through fi-nancial incentives, and improving the availability of bike storage facilities to increase bike ownership. Affordable and accessible bikeshare schemes address several barriers to bike ownership identified in this paper, and is suggested as a viable alternative to private ownership. •New cycling survey data reveals bike and e-bike ownership in Sydney, Australia.•Male, younger age, higher education and income levels contribute to bike ownership.•Tenants, living in apartments and foreign origin reduce bike ownership likelihood.•E-bike ownership is less sensitive to income, and higher at more urbanized location.•Financial incentives, storage mandates, and affordable share bikes are recommended.