More than one in four Londoners say they would consider cycling to work in the future after Tube strikes brought severe disruption to the capital earlier this month.
With much of the Underground network shut down between September 7 and 12, thousands of commuters turned to two wheels to get across the city.
E-bike operator Lime reported a sharp rise in usage, with trips during Monday and Tuesday’s rush hours up more than 50 per cent week-on-week — climbing to 74 per cent by Wednesday.
By Thursday, Lime saw a 70 per cent increase in trips, a 39 per cent rise in trip duration and a 35 per cent increase in average trip distance — suggesting more Londoners were relying on e-bikes for longer, cross-city journeys.
Now, new data from Lime and YouGov shows that 28 per cent of Londoners are more likely to consider cycling in the future due to the disruption, with 21 per cent saying they cycled during the strikes.
A survey of 1,027 London adults found that Central and East London were the places where the highest number of people said they would consider cycling in the future with 36 and 34 per cent respectively.
Alice Pleasant, Senior Public Affairs Manager at Lime said: "Last week’s travel disruption showed just how far London has come as a cycling city.
“One in five Londoners said they cycled during the strike, showing cycling is now a standard part of how we move around the city.
"During the strike, morning cycling trips rose by up to 74 per cent compared to early September.
“Average trip distance and duration also increased more as the week went on. This shift points to a growing level of confidence in cycling as a reliable, accessible, efficient way to get from A to B."
The longest single Lime journey recorded during the four-day strike was 23km, passing through nine different boroughs, while one e-bike travelled more than 201 kilometres in just four days, a distance almost as far as the drive from London to Nottingham.
Former Conservative MP Steve Brine has become a “Lime convert” since the Tube strikes.
He said on X: “Can I just say… Haven’t been down on the tube since the strike and know many many who are in the same saddle now.TfL andthe Mayor of London need to remember there are alternatives.”
Tom Fyans, CEO The London Cycling Campaign, said: "The mass shift to dockless hire bikes during the strikes demonstrated the power of cycling to move people around our city safely, the incredible convenience of dockless hire, the huge untapped potential as a safe, healthy transport mode that remains unfulfilled for cycling in London - with too many areas still deprived of truly safe, comfortable cycle routes, and the desperate need for more cycle capacity our routes already face.
“For more of those 1 in 4 Londoners who want to cycle more to keep pedalling, we'll need a lot more cycle tracks, crossings, and routes."
© The Standard Ltd