Serious cycling accidents have jumped in Hackney and other London boroughs, a new analysis reveals. It shows that there were 71 such injuries recorded in Hackney, including one fatality, last year, compared to 42 in 2024.
Other local authority areas seeing significant rises in the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured are Hounslow, up from 26 to 45; Newham, which saw a rise from 14 to 36; the City of London, up from 22 to 35; and Westminster, where the figure increased from 80 to 101. Bromley saw a rise from 9 to 21, Lewisham from 34 to 44, Lambeth from 70 to 85, and Camden from 34 to 44.
Accusations of cover-up
The figures come as Transport for London (TfL) was being accused of seeking to “cover up” the rise in serious cycling accidents on the capital’s streets. The row centres on a release about road safety in the city in which TfL highlighted a fall in the number of fatalities from nine in 2024 to six last year.
TfL did mention an eight per cent increase in serious injuries, rising from 3,597 in 2024 to 3,900 in 2025, “driven by both injuries” to people cycling and travelling in a car. However, the transport chiefs did not highlight that there had been a 20% rise in the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured (KSIs), from 994 in 2024 to 1,196 last year, a record high since at least 2017. This rate of increase was higher than that for the growing number of people using a bike in the city, suggesting cycling in the capital has become more dangerous.
There were 1.5 million daily cycle journeys in 2025, a 12.7 per cent rise from 1.33 million in 2024, according to TfL.
Political reactions
Conservative London Assembly member Thomas Turrell said: “Londoners will have serious questions about the objectivity and reliability of the data the Mayor and TfL presents them now that we understand how they present it. It strikes at the heart of transparency in government when authorities seek to paint a false image - that cycling in the capital is getting safer - when the opposite is true.”
Luke Taylor, Liberal Democrat London spokesman and MP for Sutton and Cheam, stressed: “It is encouraging to see the number of cyclists being killed by drivers on London’s roads drop to the lowest level since 2020, even as cycling levels continue to rise. It is alarming however to see the rates of injuries increase, and more analysis is needed to understand how much of this increase is due to lack of further safe cycling infrastructure being delivered, or the impact of illegally overpowered e-bikes on our roads.”
Caroline Russell, Leader of the Green Group on the London Assembly, added: “While fewer people are losing their lives on London’s roads, the rise in serious injuries is a reminder that too many people are still suffering life-changing consequences as a result of road collisions.”
Expert analysis and TfL response
Cycling experts suspect the growing number of injuries may be more linked to the city running out of cycling infrastructure capacity rather than the greater use of e-bikes. A TfL spokesperson said: “We're determined to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on London's roads and we're committed to being open and transparent with all of our safety related data. That's why we've made this easily accessible to the public through our Road Danger Reduction Dashboard.”
The transport bosses stressed that to ensure cycling is “sustainable, safe and accessible for all”, the length of the strategic cycle network had been increased from 90km (56 miles) in 2016 to over 441km (274 miles) in 2025, a seven per cent increase from 2024. Seventeen new cycleway routes were launched in 2024/25.
