Barriers to cycling for women in Worcester

One evening in February this year, I was cycling home from an event in the city centre when I was involved in an incident with a man driving a car that left me questioning whether I could continue to travel by bike in Worcester...---That night I had been volunteering at Worcester’s ‘Light Night’ art festival, and had finished my shift at around 9pm. It was dark, cold and had been raining quite heavily so I was already on high alert. Living approximately 2 miles from the city centre, it’s not a long journey but there is no dedicated cycling infrastructure except for the canal towpath which is unlit and that makes me feel uncomfortable. I opted for Tolladine Road- the quickest, most direct route, with a speed limit of 30mph. However, I’m still incredibly cautious on this road as I experience a lot of speeding and close passes from cars. As I was descending the hill heading towards the Warndon Villages, I saw a car appear at the side road on my left indicating that they wished to turn right, across me. The driver paused, and then pulled out on me as I headed downhill, on a wet road. Narrowly missing me, the driver shouted angrily at me. Just as I was catching my breath, I heard the driver accelerating the car aggressively behind me and realised that he had turned around. The driver then drove at speed behind me and swerved in front of me, to continue shouting at me about how I shouldn’t be on the road. The use of his car as a weapon of intimidation, together with the verbal abuse made it a particularly horrific incident. I was upset, and I still find describing the incident upsetting. But I was angry too. Angry that a man felt it acceptable to behave that way towards a woman. Angry that someone treated me that way for just existing and trying to get home. Angry that there is no safe cycling infrastructure that allows me to get from the city centre to where I live, even though I live on a large housing development that is served by many, many roads. Angry that there are no evening buses to where I live, reducing the availability in any choice of how to travel. Fuelled by my anger, stubbornness, and the love and support of friends in the Bike Worcester community, I did indeed get back on my bike the next day. But now I often feel that my journeys begin with me asking “which way is least dangerous?” rather than simply “which way shall I go home?”---It made me think, am I the only woman in Worcester who feels this way when they choose to travel by bike? My hunch, based on conversations with others, was that I sadly wasn’t alone in feeling this way. For International Women’s Day this year, Bike Worcester collected the stories of over 100 women as a way to celebrate, normalise and champion the brilliant stories and experiences of a whole range of women living or working in Worcester. (You can check out the incredible photo wall on the website https://bikeworcester.org.uk/worcester-women-cycle ). When you read through the stories you’ll find them joyful, positive and inspirational. But we also wanted to acknowledge challenges that women face. It’s important to recognise that there is a large gender inequality nationally when it comes to cycling. In 2018, Sustrans reported that 50% fewer women than men cycled twice a week or more (https://www.sustrans.org.uk/media/2930/2930.pdf) , and more recently in 2022, the National Travel Survey commissioned by the UK government found that males made almost three times as many cycling trips as females, and cycled on average three times the distance (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/walking-and-cycling-statistics-england-2022/walking-and-cycling-statistics-england-demographic-differences-in-walking-and-cycling#:~:text=Demographic%20differences%20in%20cycling,-2.1%20Trips%2C%20stages&text=In%202022%2C%20males%20made%20almost,to%2025%20miles%20per%20person) .To try and dig into this issue locally, we asked the women who contributed to our ‘Worcester Women Cycle’ project what they felt the biggest barriers were to them. On analysing the responses, five key themes emerged. Driver behaviour 

“I have experienced abuse and intimidation”

“The roads and traffic in Worcester where I have often had close passes, or been shouted at for cycling”

“I don’t know if it is related to the fact that I am a woman, but sometimes cars pass by really close or shout random stuff when they are passing by”

One of the key themes that emerged from the survey was driver behaviour and the risk this presents many women. They reported what was frequently described as aggressive driving, including being close passed by drivers. There were also descriptions of intimidating and abusive behaviour, and catcalling. These responses were depressing to read; I knew I had my experiences with intimidation and abuse but to discover it was so widespread in Worcester that so many people reported similar issues was eye opening. I don’t doubt that men are also on the receiving end of poor and illegal driver behaviour, but against a backdrop of misogyny women are at greater risk of harm. 

Poor Infrastructure

“ We need more cycling routes around Worcester. More accessible parks to get to by bikes.”

“I think a lack of infrastructure, like dedicated lanes is a big barrier. It can feel intimidating being in traffic.”

“I will choose to ride road routes with street lighting as I do not feel safe if too secluded.  Unlit off-road cycle routes are not suitable active travel options for most women.”

Worcester’s lack of cycling infrastructure was mentioned by a large majority of women in our survey. This included lack of segregated cycle lanes; lack of route information; limited signage; isolated, poorly lit routes; and a lack of safe cycle parking. These responses resonated with me. I feel like I have to run a journey risk assessment in my head before travelling anywhere because of our lack on safe cycling infrastructure; how risky are the junctions? How often am I close passed on that road? Is it well lit? Where is the bike parking located? The lack of safe infrastructure becomes even more of a challenge when combined with the previous point about driver behaviour…Safety concerns

“The roads are too dangerous a lot if the time”

“I don’t feel safe for me or my children to cycle into the city centre or to some of their friends houses as we would have to cycle on main roads which I feel is just too dangerous” 

“Safety - particularly down the canal or of an evening”

Safety was mentioned many, many times in the responses. This included road safety, and personal safety. The roads feeling dangerous, being hit by a car, or falling off and being injured were common themes. Often a perception of roads feeling dangerous, or cycling on the road amongst car traffic being a cause of anxiety. However, there were many responses that showed women are also constantly mindful of their personal safety with numerous references to how poorly lit some routes are, or how vulnerable women feel travelling at night, or finding somewhere safe to lock their bike. Clothing and equipment

“Ladies' clothing! Flowing dresses aren't compatible with cycling, they get caught in rear wheels. (Yes, I've done it.) Wear pencil line skirts, trousers or shorts.”

“I think finding a bike/bike seat that suit women. We were sold our bike by a female sales assistant who was sympathetic to this”

“Periods, and confidence. Also being able to buy the right sized clothes to be able to cycle comfortably”

Lots of women responded with clothing and equipment being a barrier to being able to cycle. If you’re cycling into work, or to an appointment without the expectation that you will change your clothes when you arrive, planning outfits to fit your mode of transport can be tricky. I know I’ve mangled more than one dress when I’ve not been successful in tying it out of the way. Most utility cycling in a small city like Worcester shouldn’t really involve wearing anything other than your ‘normal’ clothes but many women made the interesting point that having a female sales assistant who saw the importance of this practicality when selling the bike can be important. I also think that seeing other women out and about is often quite important; it’s good to be able to share tips and to take inspiration. Technical knowledge 

“Biggest challenge is knowing what bike to get, where to go, how to look after your bike”

“I have no idea how to fix my bike, but I have found good mechanic, who is very helpful.”

“Still hopeless at repairing punctures so looking forward to getting my new tubeless mountain bike.”

A final common theme was not feeling confident with technical knowledge about their bike. If you don’t feel confident at fixing a puncture, or just identifying what the problem is, that can be quite a barrier. I know that I’m guilty of relying on other people to fix my bike, and I’d feel much happier if I had basic technical knowledge myself. There are the beginnings of some plans to offer some bike maintenance sessions to women, so hopefully we can take some steps to start to address this challenge. I’m very grateful to all the women who shared their challenges and barriers - I’ve focused here on the five themes that emerged most strongly from the over 100 responses, but there were many other very good points made too. From these five themes, it’s interesting that the last two- clothing and equipment, and technical knowledge- are, to an extent, within the control of the individual. We can research, share tips, be a role model for others, offer advice. But the first three are much trickier. They require political will. They require strong leadership and local authorities to make clear, strategic choices that give more people the option to cycle if they wish to. It’s not good enough that so many women in Worcester feel unsafe, intimidated and put at risk when choosing to travel by bike. It does make every person you see out and about on their bike- in a dress, with their baby, in lycra, carrying their shopping, on their way to a meeting, making a delivery, cycling with a friend all the more impressive. So if you see one of them when you’re driving a car, treat them as if that’s your mum, your sister, your daughter, your niece:  please slow down, give them space and, for goodness sake, don’t shout at them.