A record number of New Yorkers took to the town on two wheels this year, according to the city’s Department of Transportation data — the fourth straight year of all-time cycling highs.
The DOT’s annual cycling survey — which uses bicycle traffic over the East River bridges as an indication of citywide trends — counted an average of 28,108 riders a day over the four river crossings.
That’s up 8.4% from the 25,943 cyclists per in-season weekday on the bridges for 2023.
“More and more New Yorkers are opting to get around by bike because it’s a fast, convenient, and safe way to travel around the city,” DOT commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement. “Another year of record-breaking ridership over our four iconic East River bridges illustrates how NYC DOT’s efforts to build safe cycling spaces has spurred tremendous growth.”
The largest single increase was seen on the Brooklyn Bridge, where ridership jumped more than 15%, from 4,769 average daily riders in 2023 to 5,504 in 2024. The Williamsburg Bridge is still the preferred two-wheel route, with 8,645 average daily riders this year — up 11% from 2023.
Ridership also climbed this year according to another metric — the average number riders crossing 50th Street in Manhattan during a 12-hour period.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
A cyclist is seen using the protected bike lanes on the FDR Drive in Manhattan. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News)
An average of 43,887 bike riders crossed 50th Street during that time this year, up from 39,001 riders last year, making 2024 the third straight record high for ridership across the midtown thoroughfare.
Since 2013, the DOT surveys have been conducted by automated bike counting machines, and are therefore unable to distinguish between traditional bicycles and e-bikes.
