OFFICIAL figures reveal that bicycle trips have fallen in the past decade - contradicting claims on which the city's new bike lane policies are based.

The NSW Bureau of Transport Statistic's 2013 household travel report found bike trips dropped 5.9 per cent since 2001 across the greater city.

Meanwhile, car travel increased 6.2 per cent, pedestrian trips soared 15.8 per cent and public transport trips rose 19.8 per cent.

The figures come after Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said bike trips in the centre of the city had grown by more than 110 per cent since 2010 and the state government based its plan for more bike paths on the claim that cycling is "rapidly rising".

CYCLISTS RUN RED LIGHTS EVERY THREE MINUTES AND IGNORE BIKE LANES

The Bureau of Transport Statistics' continuous household travel survey, compiled from annual statistics on the travel behaviour of Sydney residents, claims to be "the largest and most comprehensive source of personal travel data for the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Area".

media_camera These riders ignored red lights.

It found that in total 68.1 per cent of average weekday trips are made in a vehicle, followed by walking at 18.2 per cent and public transport at 11.8 per cent.

Less than 0.5 per cent of trips in greater Sydney are made on a bike.

CLOVER ROLLS ON DESPITE BIKE LANES REMAINING UNUSED

Bike trips fell 4.6 per cent from the 12 months to June 2012, compared with the year before, while trips by cars, walking, buses, trains and ferries all increased.

However, the Sydney Centre Access Strategy, set to remove an undisclosed amount of car parks, loading zones, footpaths and road space to give bikes dedicated lanes on the CBD's busiest roads says the opposite.

"The rapid rate of growth in cycling is expected to continue and will be supported by completing the network of separated cycleways in the city centre," the policy says.

GALLERY - BIKE LANE MAYHEM

"Connecting the cycleway network within the city centre will encourage growth in cycling, alleviate road congestion and reduce pressure on the public transport system."

The statistics found of the 4.5 million people living in the Sydney Statistical Division - 1.6 million people own a bike and 2,626 million have a private vehicle.

"Car ownership has outstripped population growth," the Household Travel Report said.

"Growth in the number of private vehicles in Sydney continued to outpace population growth,

albeit at a slightly slower pace than in previous years," the report said.

media_camera Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

"The proportion of households with no vehicles (12%) continued to decline, with a corresponding increase in the proportion of single-vehicle dwellings."

A separate State Government study, the Sydney Cycling Survey with data collated last December, found cycling rates were highest, at 3.7 per cent in outer south western Sydney, followed by the inner city in 3.3 per cent of trips.

The eastern suburbs, inner west, Sutherland, outer west and lower north all showed cycling rates below 1.9 per cent.

It surveyed 11,660 people, finding 425 had ridden a bicycle the day before in a public place on a trip of more than 100m.

Of those 147 were under 15-years-old.

"It estimated that 186,000 residents rode on trips up to 10km in a public area, - about 392,000 cycling trips per day," it said.

A Transport for NSW spokesman said within the city centre, bicycle counts show numbers more than doubling since 2010.

He said the Sydney Statistical Division included the Blue Mountains, Wyong and to Campbelltown in the south and "as such is not relevant to data underpinning the demand for a Sydney CBD cycleway network".

"Between 2008 and 2012, average daily bicycle counts have increased on the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway by 69 per cent, on the Anzac Bridge cycleway by 53 per cent and on the Anzac Parade cycleway by 109 per cent," he said.

"Providing a network of separated cycleways will reduce conflict between motorists and cyclists, reduce delays and improve overall efficiency of the network."

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore told Sydney City Council on Monday night London and New York had seen riding booms with their separated cycleways.

"Research around the world shows that, if you invest in safe bike infrastructure, people will use it," Ms Moore said.

"In London, the biggest ever census of bike use in the city found bikes now account for 24 per cent of all road traffic in central London during the morning peak and 16 per cent across the whole day.

"The census revealed one in four road users during the morning rush hour is a cyclist - and on key routes such as river crossings and roundabouts, bikes even outnumber all other vehicles."

Ms Moore said the NSW Government had set an ambitious target of doubling local and district trips by bike by 2016.

"The city's work to build a network of safe, separated cycleways will be essential if they want to meet that target," she said.