Walking and Cycling takes 29,000 cars off the road every day in the Galway Metropolitan Area, according to the 2023 Walking and Cycling Index, published in partnership with Sustrans and the National Transport Authority. The report has been launched across the five cities by the various local authorities involved in the publications.
Key findings from the Walking and Cycling Index include:
- 60% adult residents walk 5 or more days a week, 55% use car 5 or more days a week
- 1 in 5 (20%) adults cycle at least once a week
- 88% of residents support building cycle tracks physically separated from traffic and pedestrians even where that means less room for other traffic
- Every day those who walk and cycle takes nearly 29,000 cars off the road in the Galway Metropolitan Area. If all these case were in a traffic jam it would tail back 138 kilometres equivalent to the distance from Eyre Square to Sligo Town
- Residents walking, wheeling and cycling create an annual economic benefit for individuals and the Galway Metropolitan Area of €144.4 million
- Walking, wheeling and cycling improves public health in the Galway Metropolitan Area, preventing 236 long term serious health conditions annually and saving the HSE €3.55million equivalent to the cost of over 65,100 GP appointments
- Those walking, wheeling and cycling instead of driving, save greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 70,000 flights from Shannon Airport to London Heathrow Airport
- There is a €1.43 net economic benefit for each km cycled instead of driven and €0.97 net economic benefit for each km walked instead of driven
The Walking and Cycling Index, the biggest assessment of cycling in urban areas in Ireland and the UK, is produced by sustainable transport charity Sustrans (www.sustrans.org.uk/walkingcyclingindex) in partnership with city authorities.
The information in the report comes from local cycling data, modelling and an independent, demographically representative survey of more than 1,100 residents from across the Galway Metropolitan Area, whether they cycled or not.
Documents below.
- Walking and Cycling Index 2023 Galway Metropolitan Area (low resolution)
- High resolution file attached below
- Walking and Cycling Index 2023 Galway Metropolitan Area IRISH
Extra Background Documents below
- For a summary of the overall Walking and Cycling Index methodology see Data Sources and Methodologies.
- For details on the residents survey see the Survey Questionnaire
- Sustrans Data Dashboard: Sustrans has interactive dashboards available that can be used to explore the data: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/the-walking-and-cycling-index/walking-and-cycling-index-data-tool
