Seven out of ten people in England never ride a bike, government statistics show

Official government statistics, released on 18 January, reveal seven out of ten people in England never ride a bicycle. Safer roads were found to be the biggest factor that would encourage people to cycle more, followed by well-maintained road surfaces. Surprisingly, only 29% of respondents said more bike lanes would persuade them to ride more.

The new findings come from the National Travel Attitudes Survey (NTAS), an online and telephone survey that collected 2,011 responses from across England. The questions covered ownership and use of bicycles, the use of rental services and e-bikes, as well as barriers and encouragements to cycling.

Seven out of ten people never cycle

The headline figure from the survey is that 70% of respondents said that in an average week, they never travel by bike. When asked why they don't cycle more, 48% of respondents said it was due to safety concerns.

The survey asked respondents whether certain factors were likely to encourage them to cycle more. Of these factors, safer roads were the most popular choice, with 61% of respondents saying it's likely safer roads would get them on a bike more often. The second was better road surfaces, with 51% saying that better roads would persuade them to cycle more.

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Interestingly, when asked if more cycle lanes would encourage them to cycle more, just 29% of people said it would make them more likely to get on a bike, with 44% saying more bike lanes were unlikely to get them cycling more.

Bicycle ownership linked to household income

The survey recorded bicycle ownership based on demographic factors too, revealing a direct correlation between household income and access to a bicycle: perhaps unsurprisingly, the more you earn, the more likely it is you will have access to a bicycle.

At the lower end, just 25% of respondents from households with an annual income of £14,999 or less had access to a bicycle. That grew to 35% for respondents from households between £15,000 and £34,000, 48% for households earning £35,000 to £49,999, and 50% for households earning £50,000 or more.

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