Article content

To learn more about local cyclists’ habits, the city of Toronto has launched the Toronto Cycling app, which uses GPS on a smartphone to track the routes cyclists choose, the distance they travel and the time they spend on the road.

The app, which the city spent $20,000 to develop, delivers the data to the city anonymously; the city will analyze the information to help it develop a new cycling network plan, said Daniel Egan, Toronto’s manager of cycling infrastructure.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Toronto cycling app will track riders' every move — and help city develop new biking network plan Back to video

Cyclists simply need to press the app’s “on” button when they begin their ride and click “off” once they finish. For privacy reasons, the data withholds the first and last 30 seconds of the trip. Without taking names, the app collects users’ demographic information such as their age, gender and employment status, which Mr. Egan says will help the city plan its network.

“For example, do beginner cyclists make different choices than experienced cyclists? We know from personal experience that beginner cyclists are more likely to look for a bike lane or for a quieter street and experienced cyclists are more likely to be comfortable on a busy street,” Mr. Egan said.