Britons Split Over the Merits of Cycling
Britons are fairly evenly split over the merits of cycling, according to a new study by YouGov.
The survey was conducted in 12 countries, and participants were asked to say whether they had a positive or negative attitude towards each of 10 different modes of travel.
The British results for cycling were:
- 43% positive and
- 46% negative
It’s worth noting the specific question asked.
‘Do you have a favourable or unfavourable view of having to travel by each of the following modes of transport?’
question asked by yougov
Therefore, those people with an unfavourable view of cycling are not saying that they dislike other people getting around by bike, just that they don’t want to do it themselves.
Nevertheless, of the 12 countries surveyed Britain had the most unfavourable view of cycling.
In Poland, by contrast, 80% of respondents had a positive view of getting around by bike. In France views were 70% positive, and in Germany 64% gave cycling the thumbs-up.
It’s easy to speculate about the reasons for the negativity in Britain.
For one thing, poor cycle infrastructure does not enable a high percentage of British people to use cycles as transport. For another, certain newspapers constantly try to stir up antipathy towards cycling.
Only coach travel has a lower rating than cycling in Britain.
(I’m not sure why this graphic shows very slightly different percentages from the one at the top of the page).
Other Interesting Points Arising from the Survey
Other interesting points arising from the survey include the fact that walking is the preferred way of getting around in most countries.
This is not true of the US, where driving in a car (77% favourable) trumps perambulation (74%). Public transport gets a low rating from our American cousins – for example, buses only score 32%.
Singaporeans lean towards being a car passenger (86%), taking the train (85%) and taking the bus (82%) in preference to walking (80%). Only 54% of them fancied driving a car, though, vs 29% who would rather not.