Why More Brits Are Switching To The Cycle Lane

by Emma Barlow | 31 March 2016

Independent research undertaken by Ribble Cycles has found that the petrol and parking expenses for driving into work is costing commuters in England and Wales an average of £1,634.42 per person, per year and a total of 1368.88 kgCO2e in carbon dioxide emissions.

Figures obtained by Ribble Cycles from Just Park, Europe's leading provider of pre-bookable parking, revealed that the average cost of parking at work per year across 53 UK cities is a staggering £1,038.42. This is in addition to the £596 per year a commuter can expect to pay on patrol.

The annual cost of public transport can be just as expensive, with travel into London costing £1,520 p.a. with an Annual London Travelcard. Buying a monthly travel pass in Bristol every month can cost a commuter up to £1,848. Travel on buses and trains is comparatively cheaper up north, although commuters from Manchester, Leeds and Bradford can still expect to fork out £1,111 per year on public transport. Train fares increased by an average of 1.1% earlier this year, while petrol and diesel prices currently remain around the £1 mark, with further price rises forecasted.

In light of the rising cost of commuting, Ribble Cycles partnered with YouGov to find out what people's perceptions where when it came to cycling into work.

The poll of 1,143 workers revealed almost 1 in 10 currently cycle to work, higher than the 2.8% of the working population in England and Wales, who said they cycled to work in the 2011 Census - with those choosing to cycle citing health and fitness (83%), reduction in transport costs (61%) and being environmentally friendly (53%) as among the top reasons.

Distance to work was the top reason for not cycling to work, with 42% claiming they live too far away to ride their bike. A relatively high percentage of respondents (26%) said they were worried about having an accident while riding their bike, with Londoners most concerned about accidents (39%).

A lack of confidence was also cited as a reason for keeping out of the cycling lane (25%). Women were more than twice as likely to lack confidence when riding their bikes than men, at 34% and 15% respectively.

Matthew Lawson, Chief Marketing Officer, at Ribble Cycles said "It's fantastic to see an uplift in the number of people jumping on their bike for the daily commute. There are many schemes out there aimed at encouraging commuters into the cycling lane, and with the introduction of more cycling lanes and cycling superhighways within our key cities, hopefully this will make cycling a more accessible commuter option, helping to dramatically reduce city pollution and congestion."