Cycling numbers are up in London!
It’s not all good news, because we’re not on track for net zero or Vision Zero. The right direction of travel, but not fast enough (insert joke about your least favourite transport mode here), in other words.
One interesting thing to note in here is congestion is down since the introduction of LTNs and the latest wave of bike lanes: the opposite of what opponents claim but in line with all the other evidence I’ve seen. This might not be because of the bike lanes or the LTNs, but still worth noting.
You’re probably right about the post-COVID thing of not wanting to be in enclosed spaces, actually. There was also a big increase in cycling right after the 7/7 bombings, for similarly depressing reasons.