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The latest City Ratings, a data analysis tool that ranks global cities and towns based on their cycling friendliness, has been released, with thousands of locations across the globe analysed.
The new annualised data shows that the gap between London and the rest of the United Kingdom persists, whilst the nation as a whole has shown no improvement from last year in relation to its performance compared to European countries.
Despite London’s high rating, its average rating has barely improved from last year.
Assessment criteria explained
City Ratings scores and rankings measure the quality and connectivity to local amenities of a city’s bike network, including the efficacy of protected bike lanes, low-speed limits, and safe crossings. All ratings are out of 100.
This will be considerably worrying to those cycling, active travel campaigners, and the UK cycling industry as a whole, which continues to significantly lag behind Europe when it comes to sales (source). In 2024, a new Labour Government was elected in the UK. Whilst they have moved away from the transport ‘culture war’ which the previous Government had leaned into (cutting funding for active travel and countering a perceived ‘war on motorists’), there have been limited signs of progress when it comes to delivery on cycling infrastructure.
Most concerning is the delay in the introduction of the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS3). The Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed that it missed the March deadline for publishing a strategy, with no consultation having taken place (a legal requirement). Now, five years on from the launch of Gear Change, the previous Government’s flagship approach to cycling, and two years since the establishment of Active Travel England, the data from PeopleForBikes highlights what little provision there is for safe cycling on the whole.
New locations rated
As with last year, the data includes ratings for London, Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, Yorkshire, Oxford, Cambridge and more. However, there are several new locations rated this year, as the City Ratings programme expands worldwide. These new locations include Brighton and Hove and Stevenage, and bring the total number in the United Kingdom to 107, up from 83 last year.
London leads the way, but remains stagnant.
Once again, London leads the way in the United Kingdom, with 14 of the top 20 locations being in the capital. The highest ranked location, however, is Cambridge with a rating of 84 (no change from 2024). That is closely followed by Hackney (83) and Islington (82). Areas that rate highly tend to have fewer ‘’high-stress’’ roads cutting up the overall cycling network, and feature low-speed limits (20mph). The lowest rated locations are Leigh on Sea (32), Bury (40), and Solihull (41).
The location with the highest change compared to last year is Newham in London, which has seen an improvement from 66 to 82.
When looking at regional averages of those rated, London has a rating of 70, up ever so slightly from 69 last year. This is followed by Hertfordshire, which has an average rating of 56, in part due to Stevenage scoring a high 75. One of the post-war New Towns, Stevenage, has a high-quality cycle network which is segregated and well-linked. The region with the third highest average rating is North Yorkshire, with an average of 53, followed by Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, both on 50.
This data helps to spotlight the best cities and towns for cycling and active travel, as well as providing politicians and campaigners with information that they can use to make improvements for cycling provision.
Gap between London and the rest of the nation continues.
In order to understand the gap between London and the rest of the UK, it is important to look at the overall average ratings. London has an average rating of 70 (up from 69 last year), whilst the average rating for all locations outside of London is 57 (up slightly from 54 last year). The gap between the two has dropped ever so slightly, down from 15 to 14 – a negligible difference.
The UK continues to lag behind European neighbours
When looking at the ratings for European locations, four countries fill the top ten. Unsurprisingly, The Netherlands has six: Delft (89), The Hague (89), Nijmegen (86), Eindhoven (86), Utrecht (85), and Almere (85). France has two: Paris (89) and Lyon (86). Belgium has two: Brussels (87) and Leuven (85). Germany has one: Munich (85).
Paris continues to see the benefits of the significant transport policies introduced by Mayor Anne Hidalgo, as it comes in joint first place for European locations alongside The Hague and Delft.
Just two UK locations ranked in the top 20 overall.
Cambridge comes in 16th place with a rating of 84, and Hackney comes in 17th place with a rating of 83, down from 13th place last year. Both Islington and Southwark have dropped out of the top 20, having been ranked 15th and 19th, respectively, in 2024. This lack of representation in the top 20 European locations is a sign of the little progress that has been made overall in the UK.
The West Midlands and Greater Manchester
Both The West Midlands and Greater Manchester have seen considerable commitments to cycling in recent years.
In Greater Manchester, Mayor Andy Burnham initiated the Bee Network, an integrated approach to transport which includes cycling. Earlier this year, it was also confirmed that the region was set to receive £20.8million from the Government to build more walking, wheeling and cycling routes.
Despite this, the average rating for the region has remained static at 49. Whilst some locations, such as the City of Manchester, score well (65), the region has some very low-rated locations, such as Bury (39), which is in the bottom 3 overall for the UK.
Under the previous Mayor Andy Street, the West Midlands had seen praise for an ambitious active travel programme with significant investment and early delivery. Although the West Midlands continue to rank as the lowest region based on average rating, it has seen improvement from 47 last year, up to 50 this year.
This year, campaigners from PeopleForBikes contacted a wide range of Local Authority politicians and Members of Parliament to share the findings and offer further data and information.
Jenn Dice, PeopleForBikes President and CEO, said: “This year’s City Ratings highlight the progress being made in parts of the UK and the ongoing need for greater investment in safe, connected cycling lanes nationwide. We know that when cities invest in better infrastructure, more people choose to ride, and that leads to wide-ranging benefits like reduced congestion and better health outcomes.”
“These findings give decision-makers and advocates the evidence they need to take bold, informed action to make bicycling a more accessible and appealing option for everyone.”
