Cycle commuting on the rise as car use falls
Cycle commuting is on the rise (Paul Smith)
A recent Sainsbury’s Home Insurance survey shows that the number of commuters cycling to work has risen to a high of 3.3 million since the start of the credit crunch.
Meanwhile, new Department for Transport figures show that traffic on Britain's roads is decreasing significantly for the first time since the early 1970s.
For the six months leading to September 2008, there were fewer cars and lorries on Britain's roads compared to the same period in 2007. This is the first time this has happened since the 1970s and runs against the official predicted trend of a yearly 1-2 percent increase in motor traffic.
Even during the recession of the early 1990s, traffic levels stayed static rather than decreasing, suggesting the effects of the current recession are even stronger than the previous one, bikes are replacing more motor journeys, or a combination of the two.
Sales of new cars have also fallen by some 23% and are at their lowest since 1996.
People who cycle to work save an average of £33.70 a week or up to £111.2 million collectively according to the Sainsbury’s survey.
User Comments
There are 7 comments on this post
Showing 1 - 7 of 7 comments
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edeverett
Posted Fri 9 Jan, 12:45 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
Can we have a link to the survey please?
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padonbike
Posted Fri 9 Jan, 1:54 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
"People who cycle to work save an average of £33.70 a week"
I wish!
The people who did this survey have clearly never heard of wiggle!
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mountain-nic
Posted Fri 9 Jan, 2:17 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
33.20 a week - Hmmm
Here's my example.
Train costs me about £3 a day. Take an average of 44 weeks of working that's just a little under £700. Well that buys a pretty good commuting bike. Add in about £200 worth of clothing, helmet,lights and panniers - payback in about 18months I'd say is realistic. Even better if you buy through the cycle to work scheme. Most companies work on a 3 year payback for their investments.
Plus think of the health benefits (cut out the gym membership) and you have a bike that you can use for other trips too like family outings etc.
It make sense to ride - if you can.
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ransos
Posted Fri 9 Jan, 3:26 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
Isn't it more to do with the sharp increase in fuel prices that happened during the survey period of this report? Given that fuel prices have now gone back down again, it'll be interesting to see what effect it has.
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tandaylor
Posted Fri 9 Jan, 5:05 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
Riding to work is soo last week. I drive now.
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daiti2merc
Posted Fri 9 Jan, 10:19 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
Is that people who use public transport?
If it includes cars, it seems that the survey is extracting the proverbial Michael!
Does it take into account the wear and tear on the car + depreciation etc. etc.
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muddymarcus
Posted Sat 17 Jan, 10:57 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
Mixing business with pleasure is not a good plan for me, I like the pleasure of ownership of my bicycle and using it as part of my leisure time not to be included in daily hum drum commute. I used a motorcycle for work for many years and it took the fun out of what should have been a pleasurable past time.
Don't just think about money think about the fun you may loose by saving dosh!
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