BIXE 2007
About this page
Bicycle Victoria launched BIXE in 2007 - The Bicycle Spending Index.
Council draft budgets available for public comment - what is your council BiXE 2008 rating going to be?
05 June 2008 Council Budgets are now out for public comment. This is a great opportunity for you to see what your local government is proposing to do for bikes in the 2008-09 financial year and have your say.
Last year we reviewed the metropolitan councils' bike budgets and compared the results.
The City of Hobsons Bay are proposing to increase their bike budget by $90,000 from the existing $300,000 to total $390,000 in 2008-2009. This will increase their BIXE rating (Bike expenditure per resident) from 3.53 to 4.59 and is a positive step for residents in the area.
The BiXE rating is calculated by dividing the Bike Budget figure by the number of residents in Hobsons Bay (85,000 people). We believe that councils should realistically strive to achieve a BIXE rating of at least 5. Many councils are already close to or exceeding this rating.
Your local Council will most likely have their draft Budget for 2008-09 out for public comment now and available for comment. You can find out how much they are proposing to allocate to bike projects for the next financial year and calculate the BiXE rating (find the number of residents in your council area here).
Please be aware that bike-related expenditure may not be clearly identified in your council budget as projects may be incorporated into other categories such as: Transport, recreation, open spaces, or be done as part of other works such as road resheetings, drainage etc. If in doubt please seek clarification from your council.
You can give your feedback (keep it positive or at least constructive) and let your council know how you rate their efforts. Please CC the Bicycle Victoria Campaigns team so we can gauge your feedback
BIXE launched
Sep 08 BIXE 2007 enables Councils in metropolitan
It will help Councillors set budgets and staff shape programs. Residents will also be able to see how well their Council is performing for them.
BIXE 2007 has gathered data from published 2007/2008 Council budgets. Councillors and officers have also been given the opportunity to confirm or revise these figures. The index measures direct reported spending. Bike riders will of course benefit from other spending such as resheeting of roads, park improvements and pedestrian crossings.
BIXE 2007 results are presented in the graph right. (Click on the image for detailed pdf). The index presents dollars spent per resident. This is the most appropriate measure because population varies widely between Councils.
BIXE 2007 groups Councils into Inner, Middle and Outer zones. This reflects the different urban environments across metropolitan
BIXE 2007 therefore compares ‘apples with apples’ and provides a realistic comparison of direct spending on bike facilities.
Bicycle
BIXE 2007 shows:
- Only one quarter of Councils across
- In general Middle Councils spend less than those in inner and outer areas.
- Those at or above the benchmark are:
- The City of
- The City of
- The City of
- Mornington Peninsula Shire who have spent over $10m in the last three years
- City of
- City of
- A few others are not far behind.
- The City of
- The big improver over the last 12 months is the City of
- Inner Councils - We were surprised at the low allocation in the inner area by the City of
- Middle Councils - We were surprised at the low allocation in the middle area by:
- City of
- City of
- City of
- City of
- City of
- City of
There are many people in these Middle Councils who are ready to take transport and recreational trips by bike. They are just waiting for the Council to put in the lanes and paths.
- Outer Councils - We were surprised at the low allocation in the outer area by:
- City of
- City of
- City of
- City of
- Shire of
- City of
- City of
- City of
These Councils should follow the lead of Councils like Wyndham and Casey who are benefiting from increased bike riding. $5 per person is not a lot to spend to keep the congestion, obesity and inactivity monsters away.
Actual bike budgets are outlined in the pdf (see above, right). As stated above, we believe the dollar per resident figure is a more useful tool.
Note: BIXE 2007 only covers Metropolitan
