Cyclist numbers fall across England as roads are ‘too dangerous’ to ride

'Too dangerous': Fewer people are cycling regularly, figures show today
Rex Features

The number of people cycling at least once a week has fallen while 60 per cent of adults consider it “too dangerous” to bike on the roads, according to statistics released today.

Eleven per cent of adults in England cycled once a week in 2017/18, down from 12 per cent in 2015/16 - a “statistically significant decrease”, according to the Department for Transport report.

The City of London saw the largest decrease in the proportion of weekly cyclists, from 22 per cent to 11 per cent.

The government analysis also shows men cycle more often and further than women and adults in their 40s cycle the most.

In 2018, men made 15 more cycle trips than women and cycled almost four times further.

Having no interest in cycling and road safety concerns are the most common reasons cited for people not cycling more. Three fifths of adults feel it is too dangerous to cycle on the roads.

It also found that the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured has increased by 29 per cent from 3,191 in 2005 to 4,132 in 2018. This may be in part due to the 32 per cent increase in miles cycled per person in England over this period.

It comes after Transport for London analysis last month which showed London had seen record numbers of bikers.

An annual increase of almost five per cent last year was the biggest ever recorded by TfL while growth was highest in central London, up eight per cent on 2017/18. City Hall is investing £169 million a year over five years into cycling.

Joshua Harris director of Road safety charity Brake said: “These findings reveal that most adults just don’t think its safe to cycle on our roads and more is clearly needed to be done to convince them otherwise.

“Whilst the Government’s actions to encourage more people to cycle and keep them safe are welcome, they must go further.

"We need slower, safer speed limits, greater investment in segregated cycle lanes and drivers who behave dangerously removed from our roads.”

Will Norman, London’s walking and cycling commissioner, said: “London is bucking the national trend, because we’re delivering the infrastructure that makes such a big difference making cyclists feel safe.”

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