Sustrans Bike Life survey results
21st October 2015
Sustrans' Bike Life survey results, released today, show that 75% of people want national governments to invest more in making cycling safer.
Independent researchers (ICM Unlimited) questioned 11,000 people in seven cities - Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Newcastle. They were asked how much of the transport budget, currently about £300 per person, they would like to be spent on cycling. The average answer was £26. City by city, it was:
Belfast £25
Birmingham £34
Bristol £24
Cardiff £24
Edinburgh £23
Manchester £25
Newcastle £26
71% of people who didn't cycle backed an increase, against 87% of those who did. 73% of people think that things would be better if people cycled more, while 67% supported the idea that more cycling would make their area a better place to live and work.
Jason Torrance, Policy Director at Sustrans, said, 'People want governments to spend more, and say that they would cycle more if it were safer. Now governments must close this gap betwen current spending and public demand.'
This survey is based on the Copenhagen Bicycle Account, which is a bi-annual report credited with helping make the Danish capital such a bike-friendly place.
Other interesting results from the survey are that bike ownership is common, with 49% of people living in households with at least one adult bike, but low usage relative to ownership - only 24% usually ride a bike once a month or more.
See more results from the Bike Life survey.