Over 3.7m UK adults have never cycled

The government’s latest National Travel Attitudes Study makes for grim reading.

The summary reads ‘only 7% said they had never ridden a bicycle before’. Only 7 per cent? That’s a whopping 3.7m adults.

Why is the number so high? Unsurprisingly, a majority of respondents (61%) said safer roads would encourage them to cycle more. Thirty-six per cent said poor weather put them off cycling and one third felt they lived too far away from where they needed to get to. On that final point, it’s worth noting that 25 per cent of car trips are under 1 mile, and 71% under 5 miles.

“The city is where people come to work, raise families, walk in the evening. It is not a traffic corridor” John Norquist

We know what it takes to build the healthy and safe streets that encourage walking and cycling. The reason we tolerate the road deaths, air pollution and huge financial burden caused by motorised traffic is explored in our short documentary about the need to tackle road danger for the benefit of us all – however we travel.

25 per cent of car trips are under 1 mile, and 71% under 5 miles.

Cycling is a fundamental life skill so it’s important to teach people to ride while they’re young. Other countries appear to be getting it right. Odense is the third-largest city in Denmark and yet 81% of children ride to school, generally without their parents. Here in Britain, it’s less than 2%.

The ethical choice

The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance, breakdown cover  and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.

The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK’s most ethical provider.