Boris Johnson’s “cycling revolution” has so far failed to build on the gains made during the pandemic, as the proportion of people cycling at least once a week has fallen to its lowest recorded level in England.
As local councils have removed dedicated cycle lanes after the pandemic, the number of people cycling for leisure and the number of younger people cycling has dropped. Sarah Mitchell, chief executive of UK cycling charity Cycling UK, issued a plea for proper cycling infrastructure, arguing that “the short-term benefit is that people will be able to keep making those essential journeys to work, to school, to the shops by bike. The long-term benefits will be improvements to the nation’s health, economy and environment.”
In 2020, the prime minister launched a £2bn plan to boost cycling and walking rates, aiming to “build on the significant increase in the number of people cycling during the pandemic”.
But figures released by the Department for Transport show just 9.1% of people cycled at least once a week for any purpose between November 2020 and November 2021 – down from 11.6% during the 12 months ending November 2020, and 11.2% the year before, with cycling rates falling to their lowest recorded levels just one year on from the announcement.
Only 13.1% of adults cycled at least once a month in the year to November 2021 – the lowest recorded rate since the survey began in 2015-16.
Separate statistics from the National Travel Survey found that in 2021, the number of cycle trips per person decreased by 27% compared with 2020, and were also down 7% compared with 2019. The number of car journeys was up 4% compared with 2020, but still 23% lower than in 2019, while public transport trips were up 19% on 2020 but down 45% compared with 2019.
Rapid estimates from the DfT based on mobile phone data show that despite a poor 2021, the number of cycling trips has since risen in 2022 – though remain lower than their 2020 peak. This rise has mainly happened on weekdays, suggesting commuters may be turning to their bikes as the cost of living crisis starts to bite.
More than half of local authorities in England saw a decrease in the proportion of people cycling at least once a week in the year to the end of November 2021 compared with pre-pandemic rates. Four-in-five council areas saw levels fall compared with the Covid-fuelled cycling boom of 2019-2020.
Cambridge remains England’s cycling capital, despite seeing a 12.6-point drop in the proportion of people cycling once a week compared with before the pandemic – the largest drop in the country. At the other end of the scale, Islington in London saw a seven-point increase in weekly cyclists.
The drop in cyclists is mainly down to a fall in those cycling for leisure. Just 6% of people cycled for leisure once a week in November 2020 to November 2021, down from 8.5% during the first year of the pandemic. The proportion of people cycling for travel fell from 5.1% to 4.6%.
Young people have also seen levels drop, with the group aged 16-24 falling more than any other age group.
Mitchell said: “The pandemic proved more people would cycle – particularly women and children – if it felt safe for them to do so. It’s sadly no surprise that last year those cycling levels dropped, as some short-sighted councils began pulling out the protected lanes which kept people safe and traffic levels rose again.
“Both national and local governments need to learn last year’s lessons and focus on the new crisis: cost of living. More people are turning to cycling for shorter journeys to help make ends meet, but they need the safety that dedicated cycle lanes bring. ”
A DfT spokesperson said: “Government is investing a record £2bn over this parliament to enable more walking, wheeling and cycling through better infrastructure, cycle training and active travel prescriptions.
“Though cycling levels have returned from the exceptional levels we saw during the pandemic, we remain fully confident our investment will enable many more people to choose walking and cycling for everyday journeys by 2030.”
• This article was amended on 2 September 2022. An earlier version said that estimates from the Department for Transport indicated that the number of cycling trips has risen in 2022, “especially on weekends”. As was made clear elsewhere in the article, this rise has mainly happened on weekdays.
