Can You Imagine A Bike-less World

Unbelievable to think that people in the UK are less and less interested in having a bike. It’s children’s dream to get their first pair of wheels. And every parents dream to see them happily pottering about in the fresh air. However, the number of people who cycle is apparently on decline.

Figures show that the proportion of adults who cycle at least once a month fell to 14.7 per cent last year. Which is so sad.

Geographically that means the biggest fall was in Eastern England, the South East and South West. While there was no change in London and the West Midlands.

But ‘why?’ we cry is there a decline at all. Simple really. There’s no adequate funding for cycle infrastructure. Police budgets have led to a fall in traffic police numbers, so it’s less safe on the roads for cyclists and couriers.

This is something we can verify first hand… at least on the streets up north.

The figures – released by the Department for Transport – had some interesting stats. For example: one in ten people cycle for pleasure each month and 7 per cent to get to work or the shops; Just 3 per cent of adults cycle at least five times a week, while twice as many men cycle to work as women at 3.9 per cent, compared with 1.6 per cent.

Most interesting is that the amount of people across Britain who cycle to work has remained flat over the past decade despite an explosion in cyclist numbers in cities.

Those areas with more cyclists are where there are more cycling resources. It makes sense to help people feel safe on the roads whether young or old. And there won’t be more cyclists just because there are more lanes if councils don’t enforce the rules.

Casualty figures actually show that the rate of cyclists killed or injured as a proportion of distance travelled has risen for three years.

I just think it would be sad if our kids couldn’t cycle because it was too dangerous. Imagine a world without a bike? How terrible would that be?

While the Government awarded £94 million in cycling grants to eight cities and four national parks last year, The Times argues that no annual budget has been created for cycling, despite calls from a parliamentary inquiry last year for a budget of £600 million a year.

We want more investment to ensure that future generations can enjoy getting around on two wheels.

Can you imagine a bike-less world? Have your say below.

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