Cycling commuters are winning the war on petrol prices as national Bike Week begins this weekend
By Michael Smith (Vershengro)
Cycling commuters in Hyde Park (J Bewley/Sustrans
As Bike Week kicks off this weekend (18th -26th June) across England and Wales , it seems that cycling commuters are the big winners in the war on petrol prices according to latest figures from UK charity Sustrans.
The latest annual usage figures for the National Cycle Network show that over 215million cycling journeys were made in 2010 and just over a third (34%) were commuting trips. With today’s petrol costs of £1.36 a litre, if these commuter journeys had been made by car they would cost over £35million pounds in petrol.[1] Saving money was cited by 66% of all users of the Network as one of the reasons why they used it.
Malcolm Shepherd, Sustrans’ Chief Executive, says: “Local journeys make up sixty seven per cent of all trips. Enabling people to make them without having to use their cars not only helps people financially, but also helps tackle the increasing burden of more inactive lifestyles on the UK’s health service. That means providing good quality cycle paths as well as education about how to get cycling locally.”
He continues, “Local government must invest wisely and see cycling as an obvious way to get around and a key part of local transport networks as well as the benefits it has to other sectors like health and the environment.”
As well as offering financial savings, the National Cycle Network also has significant environmental and health benefits. If all cycling commuter journeys made in 2010 on the Network replaced a car trip, the potential carbon dioxide saving would be 63,000 tonnes. Nearly three million people used the National Cycle Network last year with the total health be nef its to those people being valued at nearly £400,000,000.
Other highlights from the annual usage figures show that walking and cycling journeys by women were up 13% from the year before with women making 40% of all journeys on the Network, a quarter of all trips were daily trips and leisure trips made up 45% of all journeys.
The fact that cycle commuting and, and this is greater still, local journeys by bicycles, such as the school run and the trip to the shop for a pint of milk, is great news and it is certainly also visible.
Routes through parks are busier than every with people cycling to work, mothers and fathers taking their kids to school, school kids cycling to school on their own, etc. and this is a win/win situation for both the people themselves and the environment.
The people save gasoline money, get fit and the Planet wins because the emissions are reduced.
Let's hear it for the humble bicycle and cycle use...
© 2011
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