Abstract Although equity issues are emphasised in sustainable mobility policy worldwide, there is evidence that cycling planning often prioritises advantaged areas and central zones of cities. To overcome such an inequitable scenario, scholars have called for greater attention towards disadvantaged representatives within the planning and decision-making processes. This study contributes to this debate by exploring the equity impacts of cycling plans and infrastructure allocation in three European cities using a mixed-methods approach. First, through GIS and statistical analysis, we quantitively assessed the equity gap of each cycling plan, measuring the distribution of infrastructure and accessibility gains across socio-economic advantaged and disadvantaged groups. In addition, this study performed an inductive content analysis of each plan to investigate to what extent equity issues are addressed and prioritised in planning practice. The main results suggest the most equitable scenario in a city with a long tradition of cycling planning, which has been providing denser cycling infrastructure to connect important activities and neighbourhoods within central zones and outskirts. Conversely, the implementation of the cycling plan in central areas is likely to overlook disadvantaged socio-economic zones. Despite increasing attention towards accessibility, social inclusion and safety issues within the planning guidelines, findings suggest that the evaluated plans did not prioritise or appraise equity in cycling planning practice.

Highlights • Providing a dense network in central areas is a common strategy to foster bicycle use. • Disadvantaged groups found in the outskirts are likely to have lower accessibility. • The evaluated cycling plans did not directly prioritise equity issues. • The equity impact of cycling infrastructure provision is overlooked in practice.