Cycling statistics - the real figures

In an earlier post (Cycling statistics - "Lies, damned lies and statistics") we rejected the claim made by Councillor Alan Amos and repeated by some of his fellow councillors that only 1-2% of people want to cycle.Luckily, the Department for Transport publish data for all councils throughout the country, showing in detail the number of people who walk and cycle. To view this data, go to: www.gov.uk/government/collections/walking-and-cycling-statistics.Looking through this data for cycling within the county, you get a very different picture from the one presented by Cabinet members.

Worcestershire

• 15.1% cycle at least once per month
• 10.7% cycle once per week
• 5.1% cycle at least three times per week
• 2.6% cycle at least five times per week

Worcester

• 24.2% cycle at least once per month
• 20% cycle once per week
• 10% cycle at least three times per week
• 6.8% cycle at least five times per week

So, in Worcester nearly a quarter of residents ride a bike at least once per month. Imagine if we could double this number. Imagine if we could double all these numbers.In fact, if you look to those areas in the UK with much higher cycling rates, doubling our cycling levels would actually show a lack of imagination. A cycling-friendly city like Cambridge shows us where we could be:

Cambridge

• 60.7% cycle at least once per month
• 54.2% cycle once per week
• 36.9% cycle at least three times per week
• 28.9% cycle at least five times per week

Now imagine the reduction of cars in Worcester and the resulting cleaner air if we had these levels of cycling!