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news
Bike Week 2015 CTC YouTube video stillCTC says half of UK commuters live within 5-mile bike ride of work (+ video)
National cyclists’ charity CTC says that nearly half of Great Britain’s commuters live within a five-mile bike ride of their place of work, and is encouraging more of them to switch to two wheels for their journeys.
Research commissioned from YouGov found that common complaints among those not commuting by bicycle include congestion, inconsiderate motorists, buses not arriving at the time shown on the timetable, and overcrowding and high fares on trains.
All of those are featured in a new video from CTC that has been released to coincide with this year’s Bike Week, which runs from last Saturday 13 June through to next Sunday 21 June.
As well as finding that 47 per cent of people live five miles or less from their place of work, the research also found that while sharing some frustrations, such as roads with potholes, with other commuters, 27 per cent of cyclists said nothing frustrates them about their commutes.
CTC’s Bike Week Co-ordinator, Jonathan Sharpe, said “Our latest research makes a really a compelling case for cycling.
“It is easy to start your day on time, less burdened by traffic jams, and with money still in your pocket ready for a hearty lunch break – the answer is cycling to work.”
Research previously featured on road.cc has found that those who commute by bicycle are more likely to arrive at work refreshed and be more productive than people who do so using other modes of transport.
CTC, which delivers Bike Week in partnership with Cyclescheme and Love to Ride, says that half a million people will participate in the initiative this year.
Bike Week also benefits from funding from Bike Hub, Cycling Scotland, and Travelwise Northern Ireland, and is supported by British Cycling, London Cycling Campaign, Sustrans, the Association of Cycle Traders and Cyclenation.
You can find more information, including events in your area, on www.bikeweek.org.uk as well as via Facebook and Twitter, where the official hashtag is #BikeWeekUK.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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53 comments
Where do her pupils get changed I wonder?
perception of danger is the biggest problem - if the cycling provision was provided, would she change her mind?
(also, no quieter back roads?)
When I worked at a school I used to cycle there. I asked and was told I could use the changing rooms that were used for PE. All well and good, except that none of the staff were expecting anyone to be in there at half eight in the morning so more than once I had people of both sexes wandering in on me in a state of undress.
I work in education too, and I can assure you that some schools have no changing rooms so the children change in the classroom.
It's good that CTC are highlighting this and encouraging more people to cycle. I'd say the video is a bit London-centric, featuring too much Tube footage.
Not much of a supprise to me
My children's school has a catchment area of just 1/3 of a mile yet there are cars delivering kids each day.
I live a mile from Manchester city centre yet my neighbours drive to work there every day, then when discussing heath recount their diets to me.
The fact is that is the government had any sense of joined up thinking they'd fund bike lanes simply to reduce overall costs, but governments aim to please the existing status quo, not aim for improving quality of life/society.
I used to cycle with my kids 2 miles to school where many of the parents who lived in the village would drive their kids 300 yds:(
Tried very had to convince my better half she should cycle.
its not happening I'm afraid, she often has to carry a shed load of marking (teacher) and changing facilities at her place are crap.
However, the biggest issue for her (by far) is the danger factor, its a pretty 3 mile straight and flat but there is zero provision for cyclist though the centre past all the shops and then a crappy 30cm wide cycle lane the rest of the way. road is notorious for bad driving and has seen a number of hit'n'runs (oops officer my car appears to have been stolen and found burnt out - it's been involved in the fatality you say, oh how terrible!). I'd wager that a fair few of the drivers she'd encounter didnt actually sit their own test.
Changing facilities at my place of work are nil. Baby wipes and spray deodorant in my middle drawer. But there is a sink in the toilets if I want real luxury...
Same here! But I find that's all you really need?
Which road are you talking about here?
A6010 Wilbraham road - guy was killed there last year and the car was mysteriously reported stolen and found burnt out 30mins later. Local plod were on twitter a while back asking for people to report occurrences of antisocial driving along that road. its not a route for novice cyclist, back streets are not much better.
As for the other pupils riding to school.....all the parents drive Q7 and drop them off, nuff said!
Wow, I asked as I expected it to be an area of Manchester I didn't frequent that often and thought forewarned would be forearmed but Wilbraham Road isn't far from me and I use it reasonably regularly. I didn't realise it had attracted that much mither.
As a fellow Manchester resident (Hulme) they're are few roads that I don't like cycling down and anywhere near the fallowfield cross roads is a no no. Particularly the so called cycle lane past Owens park which is always parked on andbuaes pull on to the cycle lane to drop off.
It's a death trap and doesn't need to be, except GMP don't enforce any traffic regulations.
I'm also a teacher too and havingcycled to work at four schools the washing opportunities have ranged from a bucket in a cupboard to my own shower room.
I have never worked with another teacher who cycles to work in ten years.
Which road are you talking about here?
I cycle to work, and have the same conversation again and again and again with colleagues. Many of them *could* cycle to work, but none of them *will*. They always cite the same factor - the danger of the journey.
And given some of the ***holes I've encountered on the roads, I completely understand where they are coming from. Although if even half of the people who *could* cycle to work actually *did*, the roads would be safer for all of us.
How old is this research I seem to remember quite some years ago hearing how the figures where approx 75% of journeys undertaken by car being less than 4 miles and 50% being less than 2 miles.
But as others say two miles far to far to go without a car, I mean that's almost a 30 min walk for diety's sake.
Yes, people who don't cycle must be lazy good for nothings....:-)
That wasn't what I was saying. I was saying more that people don't really seem to understand distance and how easy it is to get places without a car any more.
Too many people get in their cars and then drive to the local mall or 'superstore-and-shops' out of town area built around a car park.
They're OK with walking to the end of the road, but for many people that's about it.
They wouldn't dream of walking for more than five or ten minutes, let alone an hour.
Gods, I remember at university deciding to walk (with my gf, now wife) to the next coastal town - we misjudged the distance slightly and it took us about four hours to get there and the same back, having forgotten a wallet for bus fare home (I know, skirting dangerously close to a Four Yorkshiremen parody there...
)
Exactly.
Just look at the utter chaos that ensues when we get a smattering of snow, a lot of people seem to fall in to one of two camps;
a) "I'm going to drive anyway, because my life is far, far too important to worry about putting other people at risk and also my car has lots of fancy gadgets that do the correcting for me, which makes me think I am a lot better driver than I am".
Or
b) " I can't drive the car in the snow. The world has stopped. Completely. The end of days. This is essentially a zombie apocalypse".
The prospect of putting on a decent pair of shoes or boots and walking to your destination is a concept akin to trying to make the earth revolve in the opposite direction by throwing oranges at walls.
Five miles seems like a very long way to people who don't ride. I think that many people have a very skewed view of 'distance' (if it's not in sight, well then they'd better get the car out).
I know people who wouldn't dream of walking to the shops at the other side of my village, and who get the car out to take their kids to school in the village (when they live just down the road from me), and then drive home again. For reference, its a five-minute walk.
That said, the quote from the CTC guy - "It is easy to start your day on time, less burdened by traffic jams, and with money still in your pocket ready for a hearty lunch break – the answer is cycling to work." - isn't quite right. I find my cycling commute is still burdened by traffic jams. There are all these foure-wheeled metal boxes blocking the roads!
I'm sure you're right on the perception of distance, when I tell people I commute 11 miles by bike, I get that very British :-o expression followed by "how long does that take you then?". I think they're generally surprised when I say it's at least as quick as the car & much of the time, quicker.
Mine is also 11 miles and I get the same reaction.
But if you asked those commuters who don't use a bike for their short journey why they don't ride a bike I'm sure answers would include: it's too dangerous; my hair would get messed up; it's too far; there are no showers at work; the weather's too bad; I don't have a bike or enough money to buy one.
People who are too lazy to cycle to work are generally too lazy mentally to realise it'd make them fitter, healthier and cost them less.
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