CRUSE: Cycle Route Uptake & Scenario Estimation tool for Ireland
Funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland. Complete the feedback survey to help improve the tool.
Everyday trips
The map shows the % of trips by bike for each county in Ireland at low zoom levels, under different scenarios. At high zoom levels, it shows cycle networks for each scenario. Click on a county to further explore results. Zoom in or type a place name in the search bar to zoom in to see the networks. Use the dropdown menu to select a scenario or route network quietness (a measure of cycle friendliness) or hilliness. See the FAQs for more details.
Cycle tourism
The map shows simulated cycle touring flows, between counties, at the route network level. These trips are typically longer than the everyday trips. Width represents relative number of trips and colour represents cycle friendliness. Flows in the sea represent ferry crossings. These results only refer to cycling trips (excluding walking).
Table
Click on a county to further explore results
About
Aim and scope of the CRUSE tool
Transport Infrastructure Ireland commissioned the Institute for Transport Studies (University of Leeds) and AECOM to develop the Cycle Route Uptake and Scenario Estimation (CRUSE) tool to support strategic cycle network planning and investment prioritisation across the Republic of Ireland. The CRUSE tool has been used to develop a number of scenarios for cycle network investment in the Republic of Ireland. The CRUSE tool estimates the potential uptake of a cycle route based on factors such as distance, terrain, and attractiveness. This information can be used to inform decisions about where best to invest in new or improved cycle routes.
Reports and publications
Click on the links below for more detail on the CRUSE tool and its development:
The CRUSE extension report (2024) outlines the methods for adding recreational and cycle tourism trips to the CRUSE tool.
The Milestone 4 report showcases the refined and fully deployed website.
The Milestone 3 report introduces the prototype webtool.
The Milestone 2 report (2023) presents results by trip purpose and mode and a range of uptake scenarios.
The Milestone 1 report presents preliminary results and design options.
The CRUSE Team
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (direction): Dr Suzanne Meade and Dan Brennan.
Institute for Transport Studies (University of Leeds) (development): Dr Robin Lovelace, Dr Joey Talbot, Dr Eugeni Vidal-Tortosa, Nathanael Sheehan, and Hussein Mahfouz.
AECOM (management): Peter Wright, Gary O’Toole, Ciaran Maguire, and Shane Dunny.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank transport and road safety practitioners from the county councils of Limerick, Kildare (Donal Hodgins and Paul McDonald), Kerry (Lucy Curtis and Joyce O’Boyle), and Carlow (Seamus Loughlin and Kieran Cullinane) for their useful feedback on the tool. Thanks also to CycleStreets (Martin Lucas-Smith and Simon Nuttall) for providing data on routes.
Feedback
You can give feedback on the tool in the online survey.
Contact
Send an email to TII with “CRUSE” in the email title.
Video
FAQ
Short answers to key frequently answered questions (FAQ) are provided below. See the full FAQ page for more details and answers to questions about how the tool works.
What is the CRUSE tool?
The Cycle Route Uptake and Scenarios Estimation (CRUSE) tool is a strategic cycle network planning support tool. It was funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and builds on the approach used in the Propensity to Cycle Tool (PCT).
What is the purpose of the CRUSE tool?
The CRUSE tool supports strategic cycle network planning to support TII’s remit under the the EU Road Infrastructure Safety Management (RISM) Directive, and to provide cycle flow estimates for TII’s Project Appraisal Guidelines Unit 13.0 on Appraisal of Active Modes PE-PAG-02036.
What can the tool be used for?
The tool’s primary purpose is to support design of joined-up, evidence-based and effective strategic cycle networks. The tool can be used to visualise current cycling levels, highlight gaps in existing networks, compare ‘fast’ and ‘quiet’ networks and to understand how these could change in future, under scenarios of cycling uptake.
How can I access the tool?
CRUSE is a free and publicly available tool that is available at the website cruse.bike for everyone to use.
Which trip purposes are included in the tool?
Commute trips, travel to primary school, travel to secondary school, travel to tertiary education, social trips, personal trips and shopping trips. Recreational trips will soon be added to the tool.
What data does the tool use?
Travel to work and school is based on Central Statistics Office POWSCAR origin-destination data from the 2016 Census. We use Electoral Divisions as the geographical zones between which journeys are defined.
News
2024-01-31
- Addition of recreational trips in Everyday trips network and county level results
- New Cycle tourism tab, showing inter-county cycle network
- New Everyday trips map with the following improvements
- New dropdown menu enabling visualisation of cycle friendliness, hilliness or cycle flows under different scenarios
- Zoom-dependent legends for cycle flow layers
- Geolocate functionality allowing you to search for and zoom to place names
- Full screen toggle allowing you to view the map in full screen mode
- Clickable network links allowing you to view attributes of each segment on the cycle network
2022-09-23
2022-09-22
- Feedback survey added
2022-08-08
- New landing page
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