Measure how your cycling infrastructure is really used with a bicycle counting system based on 60 GHz FMCW radar: the sensor detects every passage and records speed and direction, delivering continuous 24/7 data with no civil works and privacy by design.
Used by local authorities, mobility engineering consultancies and system integrators to plan and evaluate cycle networks with objective data.
Radar bicycle counting is a cycle counting system that detects every cyclist riding along a bike lane, cycleway or shared path and records the passage automatically and continuously. Instead of a camera or a buried inductive loop, the detection layer is an FMCW radar sensor that measures movement using radio waves.
Beyond counting, the sensor records the speed, direction of travel and a timestamp of every passage and delivers structured data, which your platform aggregates to reveal how the infrastructure is actually used and to plan and evaluate a cycle network with objective evidence on active travel.
A bicycle counter is the equipment that carries out that counting at the survey site. In a radar installation, the bike counter is a sensor with no moving parts, mounted on a pole or lamp post beside the lane; it detects every passage and delivers the data to the platform that stores and reports it. Unlike a manual count or a one-off survey with tubes, it works automatically and unattended, which is what makes continuous measurement over months or years possible.
This page covers the specific case of bicycle countingIf you want to compare traffic counting technologies in general, the reference is our guide to vehicle counting and classification systems. If you need the complete traffic counting and analytics solution, with storage, historical data and reporting, the product is uRAD Smart Traffic. If you plan to embed radar detection into your own system, the radar sensor for integration is uRAD Smart Radar Sensor.
The radar detects every passage and generates structured data — speed, direction and timestamp — sent to a reporting solution or municipal platform.
The sensor measures each passage; your reporting platform aggregates those passages into the indicators used to size and evaluate the cycle network.
Radar SensorMounted on an existing pole or lamp post
Detection zoneCovers the full width of the bike lane
No work on the pavementNo loops or tubes on the surface
Mounting relies on street furniture that is already in place, with no trenching and no need to close the route during installation.
Eight radar counters installed at strategic points of the cycle network recorded 2,734,426 passages as part of the city's Go Green strategy, with continuous 24/7 data and no cameras.
The 62.9% of cycle traffic heads towards the city centre, with higher volumes during term time and a usage peak between 2 pm and 3 pm. The data provides objective evidence to evaluate how the cycle network is used, identify mobility patterns and support urban planning decisions.
Source: Pamplona City Council ↗
Discuss my caseA radar-based counting system solves continuity, privacy and integration with low maintenance costs.
The 60 GHz FMCW radar does not rely on visible light and is designed for continuous outdoor operation, including night-time measurement.
Mounted on existing poles or lamp posts, with no trenching and no buried sensors.
Detects movement without capturing images of people or number plates, reducing the processing of personal data.
Documented interfaces deliver the sensor data to municipal platforms, ITS systems or your own dashboards, which handle storage and reporting.
In addition: low power consumption suitable for standalone supply depending on configuration, and an IP66 enclosure with no moving parts for permanent unattended installations.
Compared with inductive loops, pneumatic tubes or optical systems, radar brings continuity, privacy and non-invasive installation. Right below is the criterion-by-criterion comparison applied to the bike lane.
A comparison focused on the bike lane case, where the road user is light, the lane narrow and the volume lower than on a vehicle carriageway. No technology wins on every criterion: the right choice depends on the site, the timescale and what the data is for.
| Criterion | Radar | Camera | Inductive loop | Pneumatic tube |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic counting | Yes, continuous | Yes, with image processing | Yes, with a loop sized for bicycles | Yes, for short surveys |
| Speed | Measured directly | Estimated, system dependent | Estimated with a double loop | Estimated with a double tube |
| Direction of travel | Yes | Yes | With a double loop | With a double tube |
| Privacy | No image captured | Captures images: needs processing grounds and justification | No image captured | No image captured |
| Civil works | None: mounted on existing street furniture | None, but needs a pole and clear line of sight | Yes: the pavement has to be cut | None, but places equipment on the surface |
| Night-time Operation | Independent of light | Depends on lighting or infrared | Independent of light | Independent of light |
| Weather conditions | Built for continuous outdoor use | Sensitive to rain, fog, dirt and glare | Barely affected once buried | Sensitive to wear and displacement |
| Maintenance | Low, no moving parts | Lens cleaning and periodic adjustment | Low, but any repair means digging | High: fixing, wear and removal |
In urban projects, image processing can be a sensitive issue. Because it is based on radar rather than video, bicycle counting presents a different privacy profile from camera-based solutions.
Compliance always depends on the applicable regulation, on how data is processed and on the specific configuration of each project. This page does not constitute legal advice.
We only need four details to assess your installation. We review the rest with you.
Assess my installationThree contexts account for most projects, and each one needs a different kind of data.
Volumes per section and trends over time to plan, justify investment and evaluate interventions on the cycle network.
Before-and-after surveys around a scheme, temporary counts and field validation with per-passage speed and direction data.
Delivering data to municipal platforms, ITS systems or in-house dashboards, including shared paths with e-scooters and vehicles.
Bicycle counting builds on two uRAD products. Choose according to your starting point.
Most local authorities and mobility consultancies start with Smart Traffic; integrators and manufacturers start with the sensor.
uRAD Smart Traffic Compact
A 60 GHz FMCW radar sensor emits radio waves and analyses the echo to detect every bicycle on the bike lane, measuring speed and direction and recording each passage with its timestamp, without capturing images. The reporting solution aggregates those records into counts, hourly distributions and usage trends.
In validated configurations and installations, accuracy levels above 95%. The actual result depends on the lane geometry, the position and height of the sensor, traffic density, riding lines and possible occlusions, so every installation should be validated in the field.
The radar captures no images of people or number plates: it detects movement using radio waves, which reduces exposure to identifiable data compared with camera-based solutions and can ease deployment in sensitive urban settings. Compliance depends on how data is processed, on the project configuration and on the applicable regulation.
Yes. It detects personal light electric vehicles such as e-scooters, cargo bikes or tricycles travelling through the detection zone. The lane configuration allows sensitivity to be tuned to reduce false positives from pedestrians or other users.
No. The sensor is installed on existing poles or lamp posts with no trenching and no buried loops, which cuts cost and installation time compared with inductive loops and avoids closing the route.
Yes. Because it is based on radar rather than imaging, it works day and night without relying on visible light, and it is designed for continuous outdoor operation. That is a meaningful difference from optical sensors, whose reliability depends more on visibility conditions.
The inductive loop senses the bicycle's metal mass from within the pavement: it is reliable on narrow, clearly delineated lanes, but it requires cutting the pavement and any repair means digging it up again. A pneumatic tube registers each passage by pressure: it is the cheapest option for a survey of a few days, though it wears, can shift out of place and is not intended for permanent measurement. Radar measures from the edge of the lane on existing street furniture, with no civil works, and supplies speed and direction per passage with low maintenance. The criterion-by-criterion table is further up this page.
Yes, that is one of its common uses. Because every passage is recorded with a timestamp, speed and direction, it yields volumes per section, hourly distribution, directional split and trends over time, both in temporary surveys and in permanent measurement. It is the basis for comparing usage before and after an intervention on the route, provided both counts are made at the same site with the same configuration.
For each cyclist the sensor delivers a timestamp, speed and direction of travel. By aggregating that data, the reporting solution can generate counts by hour, day and month, hourly distribution, average speed, daily volume and trends over time, exportable and ready to integrate into mobility platforms.
Yes. Sensor data is transmitted through documented interfaces to integrate with municipal platforms, ITS systems or in-house dashboards, which handle storage and reporting. To embed detection into your own system, see the radar sensor for integration; if you prefer the complete traffic counting and analytics solution, the reference is uRAD Smart Traffic.
Tell us which sections you want to count and we will assess the technical feasibility: locations, number of sites, power supply and how the data integrates into your platform.
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