A seismic shift is underway in Barcelona’s bike lanes, with the once-ubiquitous electric scooter ceding significant ground to the bicycle. A new study reveals that bicycles now account for over 80% of all movements in these dedicated lanes, driven by a surge in electric models that now represent nearly two-thirds of all journeys.
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The findings come from the fifth edition of the ‘Radiografía Ciclista de Barcelona’ (Cycling X-Ray of Barcelona), a comprehensive report presented by the Bicicleta Club de Catalunya (BACC). Researchers collected data throughout September and October 2025 at six strategic points across the city, analysing vehicle types, user profiles, and propulsion methods to track evolving mobility trends.
According to the BACC report, the data confirms a clear and ongoing trend. Bicycles constituted a commanding 81.95% of observed traffic in bike lanes, while electric scooters and other Personal Mobility Vehicles (VMPs) made up the remaining 18.05%. This marks a steady decline for scooters, which peaked at over 32% of bike lane traffic in 2022 before falling to 22.42% in 2024.
The Electric Revolution on Two Wheels
The most significant transformation is the city’s accelerating embrace of electric power. The study found that 64.1% of all vehicles in bike lanes, including scooters, are now electric. “The system has been electrified in a structural and accelerated way,” the BACC stated in its analysis, as reported by El Periódico.
Within the cycling ecosystem, the electric bicycle now dominates. E-bikes account for 46.35% of all bicycle journeys, comfortably surpassing traditional mechanical bikes (35.86%). The city’s public bike-sharing service, Bicing, heavily influences this change. Electric Bicing models now comprise 26.08% of total bike lane traffic, a share seven times greater than their mechanical counterparts (3.71%). This reflects what the BACC calls “a structural change in the use of the public service and in user habits.”
This shift is part of a broader push towards sustainable transport across the metropolitan area, which has also seen the city promote other green commuting options. Related initiatives include the AMBici bike service expansion and a programme where Barcelona loans bikes to local companies to encourage employees to cycle to work.
What’s Behind the Scooter’s Decline?
The electric scooter’s downturn appears directly linked to policy changes. The BACC study, cited by El Nacional, notes that the decline began in earnest after February 2023. This followed a ban preventing scooters from being carried on public transport services, including the metro and buses, operated by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB).
Adrià Arenas, a representative for the BACC, suggested the scooter has faced intense scrutiny. “The scooter is the punching bag, just as the bike was before it,” he explained. “It has been persecuted as a new actor in mobility in recent years, which explains its decline.”
However, Arenas noted this does not necessarily represent a setback for sustainable mobility. He argued that many who adopted scooters were previously pedestrians looking for a faster way to make short trips, rather than drivers switching from cars. This contrasts with the broader city strategy to encourage a mobility transition away from combustion engines, which includes initiatives like subsidies for electric mopeds.
A Widening Gender Gap and Infrastructure Concerns
Despite the growth in cycling, the report highlights a worrying trend: a widening gender gap among users. In 2025, women represented just 30.7% of all users in bike lanes, a significant drop from 35.6% in 2021. The disparity is even more pronounced in the afternoon, when female participation falls to 28.6%.
The BACC attributes this decline to a growing perception of insecurity on the cycling network. “The perception is that the infrastructure is not connected, especially in the Eixample district, where there is continuous fragmentation,” Arenas explained. He also pointed to the constant “invasions of the bike lane” by cars and delivery vans as a key factor deterring female cyclists.
The cycling club lamented the lack of new infrastructure, calling for a “firmer commitment from the Ajuntament de Barcelona (Barcelona City Council) to enable more cycling infrastructure.” They argue that greater use is proven to result from more facilities, a principle exemplified by programmes like the ‘Obrim Carrers’ initiative, which closes major streets to traffic on weekends.
The study concludes that while the e-bike has successfully reclaimed the bike lane, ensuring the network is safe, connected, and appealing to all residents is the next critical challenge for Barcelona’s mobility planners.
