Kirklees residents '˜not getting on their bikes'

KIRKLEES HAS one of the lowest proportion of cyclists in England, with only one in 17 people riding their bike at least once a week, a survey found.

The Department for Transport has just released the results of an annual survey, which reveals how often people cycle in England.

In Kirklees there were 1,510 respondents, who answered questions about their travel habits between November 2016 and November 2017.

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Of those, six per cent said they cycled at least once a week. This is well below the England average of 12 per cent.

Only one in 17 people ride their bike once a week in this area.Only one in 17 people ride their bike once a week in this area.
Only one in 17 people ride their bike once a week in this area.

The survey suggests 17 per cent fewer people are cycling at least once a week, compared with 2015-16.

In Cambridge, the local authority with the highest proportion of cyclists, more than half of the residents cycled at least once a week.

But nationally the number of cyclists has not increased.

Xavier Brice, chief executive of Sustrans, the walking and cycling charity, said: “It is disappointing to see that levels of cycling have not changed nationally or regionally compared to previous years.

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“Cities with well-established cycling cultures such as Cambridge and Oxford unsurprisingly record the highest prevalence for cycling at least once a week.

“This confirms what is already widely known – that good quality cycling infrastructure combined with behaviour change programmes is responsible for increased cycling uptake.”