Abstract
BACKGROUND: Despite the growing evidence on positive effects of built environment interventions, including bicycle infrastructure interventions, on physical activity, research methods employed in studies continue to be heterogeneous and the evidence on effective strategies is still lacking. The main objective of this rapid review was to systematically map the evidence regarding the effects of bicycle infrastructure interventions on physical activity in the general population of high-income countries. METHODS: This rapid review adhered to Cochrane guidelines. A systematic search of PubMed was conducted using a predefined search strategy with the following key terms: bicycle infrastructure, multi- or single-strategic intervention and physical activity. Only English-language articles published between August 1st, 2013 and November 21st, 2025, were included. A pre-piloted data extraction spreadsheet was used to extract and summarize key information from the selected studies. RESULTS: A total of 980 articles were screened for eligibility. Of these, 32 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. The evidence revealed predominantly positive effects of bicycle infrastructure interventions on physical activity (n = 21). However, in 11 studies, no effects (n = 9) or decreased physical activity (n = 2) were found. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that implementation of bicycle infrastructure may positively affect physical activity at the population level. Regional sociodemographic differences still have to be investigated to support current policy actions. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-026-27110-z.