CLAIMS that city bike lanes carry as many commuters as cars have been shown to be false, with up to five times as many cars travelling in morning peak hours than bikes.

A traffic audit prepared for The Daily Telegraph by Austraffic on the city cycleways shows cars, trucks and motorbikes still make up the majority of movement on city roads.

Figures from Roads and Maritime Services and the state government released earlier this month showed a lane-by-lane analysis of Sydney streets had cyclists outstripping motorists.

EDITORIAL: MAKING NO SENSE WITH ROAD FIGURES

Its figures counted 394 bikes and 208 cars in peak traffic times on Kent St, 439 bikes and 394 cars on King St, and on College St 529 bikes were counted next to 418 cars,

But the RMS analysis only counted the one lane of traffic next to the bike lane.

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A full audit of peak Sydney traffic on roads with cycleways by transport data analysts Austraffic shows that on the intersection of College St and north of Park St there were 2726 cars, trucks and motorbikes to 501 bicycles. A further 16 bikes were counted on the road.

At the Kent St intersection, between King St and Erskine St there were 2092 cars, trucks and motorbikes, and 437 bicycles — 28 of which were riding on the road. At Bourke Rd, Alexandria, and south of Doody St there were 1551 cars, trucks or motorbikes to 122 bikes — seven of them on the road.

media_camera A cyclist on Kent Street.

And at Bourke St, Surry Hills, 683 vehicles compared to 338 bicycles — only one of which was riding on the road.

A Transport for NSW spokesman said their analysis showed more bikes than cars because their method was to “compare the number of cyclists in bike lanes with the amount of traffic in the adjacent vehicle lanes”.

This means that on College St, which has four lanes of traffic, only one was counted.

“Only the results of surveys with the same methodology can be compared,” the spokesman said. “The purpose of the study was to demonstrate how many people a two-directional cycleway carries compared to the equivalent road space, which is one lane.”

A City of Sydney spokeswoman said transport planning should not be “a competition between bikes and cars”. “People should be able to choose from a range of options that are safe and efficient,” she said.

media_camera A virtually empty cycleway on College Street.

“Independent research continues to show that the number of people choosing to ride is growing. The number of bike trips being made in the City of Sydney has grown to more than 60,000.

“Separated cycleways provide people with a safe and efficient option. The biggest growth in the number of people riding has been on separated cycleways, with 327 per cent growth on Kent St and 307 per cent on College St during the morning peak between 7am and 9am.”

Earlier this month, Roads Minister Duncan Gay said he would research the feasibility of forcing cyclists to be licensed — by introducing helmet registration numbers and a demerit point scheme.

Mr Gay has repeatedly said cyclists needed to be more accountable for their actions.

The proposed demerit scheme would target speeding cyclists, those not wearing helmets, and cyclists who run red lights.

media_camera A cyclist on College Street.

The cars that ate the facts: Tim Blair Sub-type: comment CAPTION: The cars that ate the facts: Tim Blair Sub-type: comment CAPTION: The cars that ate the facts: Tim Blair

ANY casual observer of Sydney’s bicycle lanes would be aware of how few bikes actually use those expensive, space-robbing indulgences. Compared to the roads alongside them, the bike lanes look like Chernobyl on a winter public holiday. Busy they are not.

So it came as a surprise when the state government released figures claiming far more cycles than other vehicles were present during peak hour on roads that included bike lanes. The numbers appeared to vindicate Sydney Mayor Clover Moore’s support for the lanes. Cars are out! Sydney is a cycle city!

It now emerges the numbers were as dodgy as a Wayne Swan budget. For the Roads and Maritime Services only counted cars in the one lane of traffic parallel to the bike lanes. Seriously.

The RMS research was absolutely pointless as the information was so misleading and didn’t give a true insight into the peak-hour commuter traffic on the city’s roads.