A new program hopes to overturn Wollongong's reticence to cycle to work.
The University of Wollongong and Wollongong City Council are the first employers to sign on to the program, which is part of legacy of the 2022 UCI Road World Championships, and the hope is to get more workers on their bikes with secure lockers, showers and storage.
The first group travelled from Wollongong Town Hall to the University of Wollongong, and Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery was part of the peloton.
"This is an opportunity to remind the community, here is an active transport option to get to work," he said.
While Wollongong outperforms the Australian average when it comes to using a bicycle for recreation, it is well behind Australia and NSW when it comes to cycling as a form of transport.
In the National Walking and Cycling participation Survey, 22 per cent of those surveyed in Wollongong used a bicycle for transport in the past month, compared to 34 per cent Australia-wide.
This can include commuting, cycling to school and university, for shopping trips and to visit friends and relatives. More people in Wollongong cycled to public transport than the Australian total, however this was only 2.2 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.
Head of UOW school of Geography and Sustainable Communities and frequent cyclist Nicholas Gill said Wollongong was well behind other cities that he had cycled in, such as Canberra, when it came to cycling infrastructure.
"Canberra is streets ahead in terms of bike paths," he said.
At Council, about 40 staff cycle to work each day, and 3.5 per cent of UOW staff and students cycle to university.
Clr Bradbery said the government was supporting cycling with investments in infrastructure.
"Council is putting in millions into cycleways and shared pathways," he said.
Australian governments significantly underspends on active transport, including walking and cycling, compared to their international counterparts, a report from the Climate Council outlined last week.
Transport is Australia's second largest source of emissions, after energy, and to reach net zero trips by foot or bike need to triple, the report states.
The Climate Council recommended active transport rise to 20 per cent of transport budgets.
Where there isn't a separated cycleway, Destination Wollongong chair Simon Kersten said the onus was on users to share the road.
"Just a bit of common courtesy, taking an extra 30 seconds to get to work is not going to hurt anybody.
The 2021 survey asked what people in Wollongong would like to see to get them on to their bike. Top of the list were more off-road paths and cycleways, while respondents were not asked about end-of-trip facilities, the second lowest priority was events or campaigns that promote bicycle riding.
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