Cycling UK – s Cycling Statistics, Cycling UK

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Cycling UK’s Cycling Statistics

Note: we use government sources for most of our figures, and quote them in brackets (the number refers to the table in the relevant publication). See Key.

Unless otherwise stated, the figures below relate to Good Britain (for useful sources specific to Scotland or Wales, see note on the National Travel Survey).

1. How many people cycle and how often?

The British Social Attitudes (ATT 0305) survey of adults over the age of Legitimate suggests that in 2015:

The Active People Survey (APS Statistical Release), based on a much larger sample of the population, suggests that, of people aged 16+ in England (2014/15):

3% cycle five times a week (about 1.Trio million people of 16+)
9% cycle at least once a week (about four million people of 16+)
15% cycle at least once per month (about 6.6 million people of 16+)

(Population estimates from ONS)

According to the National Travel Survey, about 7% of the population aged Five+ cycled three or more times a week in 2016. If applied to the entire of Superb Britain, this equates to around Four.Two million people of Five+. (NTS 0313).

About 6% of people aged sixteen and over cycled at least 1-2 times a week in 2014-15 when asked about their travel over the three months before their interview (ATWCWales).

About 3% of people aged over sixteen cycled on at least 1-2 days as a means of transport in the previous week when asked in 2014; 2% cycled on 3-5 days, and 1% on 6-7 days. The same percentages of people cycled for pleasure or to keep fit. (TTS Table 25b).

Two. How many people don’t cycle much, if ever?

According to the National Travel Survey (NTS 0313), of over-fives:

Around two-thirds of the population cycle less than once a year, or never (equating to about forty million people in Excellent Britain of Five+).

The British Social Attitudes Survey two thousand fifteen (ATT 0305) found that, of over 18-year olds:

69% never cycle nowadays (about thirty four million people of Legal+)

Trio. How many people own or have access to a bicycle?

42% of people aged five+ (c. Twenty five million people) own a bicycle, while another 1% has use of one (NTS 0608)

Four. How many trips/miles do people cycle a year compared with other kinds of transport, and what’s the average journey length?

On average, in England (2016):

Each person made fifteen trips by cycle during the year (all age groups) (NTS 0409); and cycled fifty three miles (NTS 0605);
Each person made nine hundred fifty four trips by ‘all modes’ (i.e. car, public transport, walking etc.), which means that cycling accounted for 1.5% of all trips (NTS 0409);
Car/van drivers made three hundred eighty nine car trips (NTS 0409); and drove Trio,289 miles (NTS 0605);
The average length of a cycle tour was three and a half miles, while the average length of a car tour was about eight and a half miles (NTS 0306):

Five. Do fellows cycle more than women?

Yes. On average in England:

In (2014/16), masculines aged Five+ made just three times as many cycle trips as females (27 as opposed to nine) (NTS 0609);
Masculines also cycled over four times as many miles (87 as opposed to twenty for females) (NTS 0605);

Fellows are more likely to cycle to work than women. In 2011: Three.9% of masculine workers cycled to work compared with 1.6% of female workers in England and Wales (CensusEW); while Two.1% of masculine workers cycled to work compared with 0.6% of female workers in Scotland (CensusS, Table DC7101SC).
In Wales, of people aged sixteen and over, 4% of studs, and 2% women cycle 1-2 times a week ( ATWCWales Table 1).
In Scotland, 4% of fellows and 2% women cycle 1-2 times a week as a means of transport; and 5% of boys and 2% of women cycle 1-2 times a week just for pleasure or to keep fit (TTS Table 25b).
Why don’t more women cycle? More stats and commentary from Alix Stredwick.

6. Which age group cycles most?

Over the period 2012-2016, people in age bands 21-29, 30-39 and 40-49 made more cycle trips a year than any other band (21, twenty two and twenty two trips respectively). The average for all ages was sixteen trips. (NTS 0601);
Over the same period, 30-39 and 40-49 year-olds on average cycled eighty four and eighty eight miles respectively each year, outstripping all other age groups. Next down were 21-29 year-olds at 67, with 50-59 year-olds at 66. The average cycle mileage over the year for all age groups was fifty four miles (NTS 0605):

In 2011, in England and Wales, cycling to work was most common among 30-34 year-olds – Three.5% of workers in this age group cycle-commuted. Up to sixty years of age, the rate of cycling to work was above 2% for all age groups (CensusEW).
In 2011, in Scotland, cycling to work was most common among 25-34 and 35-49 age groups (1.7% of each age group, as opposed to 1.4% for all 16-74 year-old workers) (CensusS, Table DC7101SC).

7. What about children and youthful people, and cycling to school?

On average, in 2016, 0-16 year-olds made thirteen cycle trips each (compared to an average of fifteen for all age groups) (NTS 0601); and cycled around twenty six miles over the year (compared to an average of fifty three for all age groups) (NTS 0605).

As far as travel to and from school is worried, in England (2012-2016):

Around 2% of children aged 5-10, and 3% of children aged 11-16 (NTS 0613) cycled:

Walking and cars/vans were the most common forms of transport used for the school/college run. The average distance travelled for education purposes was only around two and a half miles (NTS six hundred thirteen & NTS);
Travel for education contributed significantly to peak time traffic: from 2011-15, it was responsible for about 29% of trips inbetween eight and nine am, with an extra 21% escorting others to education (NTS 0502).

According to a ‘hands-up survey’ in 2016, Four.9% of children indicated that they normally cycle to primary school, while 0.9% said they cycle to secondary school;
According to Transport and Travel in Scotland, 1.2% of children cycled to and from school in two thousand fifteen (STS Table 11.Nineteen).

2% of trips to primary schools and less than 1% of trips to secondary schools in two thousand fourteen were made by cycle (ATWCWales)

Read our in-depth briefing on cycling to school or college for more stats and commentary.

8. How many people cycle to work?

In two thousand eleven (England and Wales), 741,000 working residents aged sixteen to seventy four cycled to work. Albeit this was an increase of 90,000 on the number who cycled to work in 2001, the share of cycling to work was still Two.8% (CensusEW);
Another 50,000 or so people use bikes as part of a longer journey (CensusEW);
In two thousand eleven (Scotland), 1.4% of people in employment aged 16-74, cycled to work (CensusS, Table QS701SC). (See also section 12)
The number of people living in London who cycled to work more than doubled from 77,000 in two thousand one to 155,000 in 2011. Brighton, Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield also witnessed substantial increases. Cambridge too is worth a mention in dispatches – 29% of its working residents cycle-commute, a higher rate than any other local authority (next down is Oxford at 17%) (Census).

In England, around 4% of commuting trips are cycled each year (NTS 0409):

To investigate local switches in cycling to work via England and Wales inbetween two thousand one and 2011, have a look at our map.

Read our briefing on cycle commuting and cycle-friendly employers for more stats and commentary.

9. What kind of jobs do most cyclists do?

People from higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations are more likely to cycle at least once a month than people in intermediate, routine and manual work (APS CW 0203);
People least likely to cycle at least once a month are those who have never worked and the long term unemployed. (APS CW 0203);
Students, however, are more likely to cycle at least a month than any other occupational group. (APS CW 0203):

The two thousand eleven Census found that cycle-commuting was most common among those working in elementary and professional occupations, and least common amongst managers, directors and senior officials (CensusEW);
In Britain as a entire, the proportion of cyclists increases with household income (ATT Statistical Release, 2015). In Scotland, however, those who earn under £10k and up to £20k are more like to cycle to work than those whose income falls into higher brackets spanning £20k to £40k+ (3% compared to 2%, respectively) (STS Table 11.Legal).

Ten. How many drivers cycle? And how many cyclists drive?

15% of utter driving licence holders cycle more than twice a month; 18% cycle once a year to twice a month (ATT two hundred sixteen – published in Attitudes and Behaviour Towards Climate Switch two thousand twelve survey);
Around 80% of cyclists hold a driving licence (DfT Press Release)

11. Is cycle use enhancing in Britain?

Yes, cycle use has largely enhanced over the last few years (TRA 0401):

Cycle traffic has risen almost every year since 2008:

Traffic counts suggest that the number of miles cycled in two thousand sixteen – Trio.Five billion – is around 23% above the figure ten years before, and 6.3% more than the miles cycled in 2015. The figure for two thousand sixteen is about the same as in 2014, which was the highest since 1987.
This is all good news, but there`s a long way to go until cycling reaches the levels seen in one thousand nine hundred forty nine (14.7 billion vehicle miles)! (Note, figures before one thousand nine hundred ninety three are not directly comparable to one thousand nine hundred ninety two or earlier, according to the DfT).
Cycle use increases have been higher in some urban areas: in London, for example, the number of daily average cycle stages and trips made by cycle in two thousand fifteen went up to 0.67 million, a leap of 63% from two thousand five (Travel in London Report 9, TfL 2016).

12. Where do people cycle the most?

In terms of road class, on average each year, four-fifths of cycling takes place on minor roads:

Source: Road Traffic Good Britain (TRA 0402)

Note: the above table reflects cycling on roads only, i.e. not off-road on bridleways or byways etc.

In geographical terms, in England (2014/15), more people cycled at least three times a week in Cambridge than in any other local authority. Others in the top twenty, out of the three hundred fifty nine local authorities surveyed all told (i.e. district, city, borough, county & metropolitan) are (APS CW 0104):

Note: Figures for individual authorities fluctuate fairly a bit from year to year, so the data above isn’t a ideal reflection of cycle use in any given area. However, it’s the best indication we have for how individual councils are progressing on active travel locally.

You can also find our how often people are cycling in your local area (England) from the walking and cycling statistics gathered from the Active People Survey (APS).

In Scotland (2013-14), the proportion of those cycling to work ‘usually’ or ‘regularly` is highest in: (ACMRScot 2016):

13. How much cycling is there compared with other kinds of transport?

Source: Road Traffic Superb Britain (TRA one hundred four & 0402)

14. What`s the purpose of most trips?

Purposes of cycling: recreational or utility, England (APS CW 0104)

In Scotland (TTS Table 3a):

Cycling and car trips:

Commuting and leisure are the most usual purposes for bicycle trips, while car drivers and passengers in two thousand sixteen seemed to be focusing most on leisure and shopping. (NTS 0409):

15. How do the levels of cycling in the UK compare to those in other EU countries?

Not well. According to a survey by the European Commission, only 4% of UK respondents cycle daily. Along with Luxembourg and Spain, this is the lowest percentage of all EU twenty eight countries, except for Cyprus (2%) and Malta (1%).

In contrast, the survey report says: «Approximately four in ten respondents in the Netherlands (43%) cycle daily. Harshly three in ten respondents in Denmark (30%) and Finland (28%) also cycle daily.»

In the UK, only about 1-3% of children cycles to school, but in the Netherlands, around 49% of primary school children cycle to and from school, 37% walk and only 14% are brought and collected by car. In secondary school, the cycling share is even higher. (Source: Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat, Fietsberaad. Cycling in the Netherlands. 2009).

16. How many cycles are sold in Fine Britain?

In general, data on cycle sales in the UK are based on official import statistics published by HMRC. There is no other loosely available source, albeit the Bicycle Association does suggest off the hook access to market intelligence for its members (almost all of which are businesses).

An annual report produced by the Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry (CONEBI) gathers reports from EU countries, including the UK. Largely based on HMRC figures, Bicycle Association findings and informal estimates, this says that in Good Britain:

Just over three million+ cycles were sold two thousand sixteen (Three.Five million in two thousand fifteen and Trio.6 in 2014). The petite decline in sales in two thousand fifteen was put down to ‘natural variability`, but the figure in two thousand sixteen represented a c20% drop on the previous five-year average; Albeit there is some speculation about why this might have happened (correction of over-supply in earlier years, the children`s scooter boom, Brexit etc.), no single cause has been identified;
In 2016, more cycles were sold than in any of the other EU 28, except for Germany at just over four million (note, size of population is a factor here);
Albeit still petite, the e-bike market shows up to be growing rapidly. 75,000 units were sold in 2016;
The vast majority of cycles sold are imported, mainly from the Far East;
Around 83,000 cycles a year are manufactured, the main maker being Brompton;
30% of cycles sold are childrens’; 30% MTBs; 10% road; 26% classic/hybrid; 4% folding/’other`;
Bike sales account for about half of the total retail value of the cycle market; the other half is made up of sales of parts & accessories including tyres, clothing, and from repairs and maintenance;
The average price of a bike (including e-bikes) is around €521 (about £480).

In 2016, more fresh cycles were sold in Good Britain than fresh cars registered: three million cycles + v Two.7 million cars (Government’s vehicle licensing statistics,Table VEH 0150).

17. What’s the average weekly household spend on bikes?

Obviously, how much each household spends on transport varies widely, but on average, it’s around £74.80 a week. Only a lil’ amount of this goes on bicycles – not needing to buy fuel is, of course, a big saving.

Legitimate. Does cycling help the economy?

Yes. Here`s some facts from our briefing on cycling and the economy:

The Cycle to Work Scheme (a tax-efficient scheme that permits employers to buy cycles and loan them to staff for a regular repayment) generates at least £72million in economic benefits for the UK economy in terms of health a year.
Occasional, regular and frequent cyclists contributed a ‘gross cycling product` of c£3bn to the British economy in 2010;
The average economic benefit-to-cost ratio of investing in cycling and walking schemes is 13:1;
In 2010, around 23,000 people were employed directly in bicycle sales, distribution and the maintenance of cycling infrastructure. They generated £500m in wages and £100m in taxes;
On 9th Avenue (Manhattan), where a high quality cycle lane was rebuilt in late 2008, retail sales enlargened by up to 49%, compared to 3% borough-wide;
Together, mountain biking and leisure cycle tourism contribute inbetween £236.2m and £358m p.a. to the Scottish economy, with a cumulative gross value added of £129m.

What’s more, research commissioned by Cycling UK shows that cycling could, potentially, bring in a lot more:

If cycle use increases from less than 2% of all journeys (current levels) to 10% by two thousand twenty five and 25% by 2050, the cumulative benefits would be worth £248bn inbetween two thousand fifteen and two thousand fifty for England – yielding annual benefits in two thousand fifty worth £42bn in today`s money.

See our total briefing for more on cycling and the economy, together with the sources of the facts above.

Nineteen. How healthy is cycling?

Cycling is excellent exercise. It helps people meet recommended physical activity guidelines, improves mental health and well-being, and reduces the risk of premature death and ill-health. It also fits into daily routines better than many other forms of exercise, because it doubles up as transport to work, school or the shops etc. – and it’s much cheaper than going to the gym!

Here`s some facts from our briefing on cycling and health:

A explore of 264,337 people found that cycling to work is linked with a 45% lower risk of developing cancer, and a 46% lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), compared to commuting by car or public transport;
On average, regular cycle commuters take more than one day per year less off sick than colleagues who do not cycle to work;
The health benefits of cycling outweigh the injury risks by inbetween 13:1 and 415:1, according to various studies. The figure that is most often quoted is 20:1 (life years gained due to the benefits of cycling v the life-years lost through injuries);
People who cycle regularly in mid-adulthood typically love a level of fitness equivalent to someone ten years junior and their life expectancy is two years above the average;
Boys aged 10-16 who cycle regularly to school are 30% more likely to meet recommended fitness levels, while chicks who cycle are seven times more likely to do so;
How many calories you use up whilst cycling depends on your weight, height, age and how swift you rail etc., but (very) generally speaking, cycling burns around five calories a minute.

Lack of exercise, after all, can make people ill, and obesity is a serious and costly public health concern:

In England, physical inactivity causes around 37,000 preventable premature deaths p.a. amongst people aged 40-79;
In 2015, there were five hundred twenty five thousand admissions in NHS hospitals where obesity was recorded as a factor;
In England (2015), over one in five children in Reception, and over one in three children in Year six were measured as obese or overweight;
Without act, 60% of fellows, 50% of women and 25% of children could be obese by two thousand fifty in the UK, at a cost of £Ten billion p.a. to the NHS.

See our utter briefing for more on health, along with the sources of the facts above.

20. How risky is cycling?

Is cycling indeed that dangerous?

No. In general, cycling in Britain is a relatively safe activity.

Using official police-reported road casualty figures, road traffic reports, population stats and the National Travel Survey, Cycling UK calculates that, on average, over 2011-15:

One cyclist was killed on Britain`s roads for every twenty nine million miles travelled by cycle – the equivalent to well over 1,000 times around the world;
There were around 9.Five million cycle trips for every cyclist death;
The general risk of injury of any severity whilst cycling was just 0.05 per 1,000 hours of cycling.

According to a paper that looked at sports injuries, tennis is riskier than ‘outdoor cycling` (Five injuries per 1,000 hours for tennis, Trio.Five for cycling). ‘Rowing machine exercise` came in at six injuries per 1,000 hours;
As mentioned above, the health benefits of cycling outweigh the injury risks by inbetween 13:1 and 415:1, according to various studies (and depending on the benefits/disbenefits considered).

These facts, together with the reference sources, are included in our road safety briefing.

Despite this, many people are put off cycling because they think it’s unsafe:

Around 70% of non-cyclists in Britain feel that it is too dangerous for them to cycle on the roads; and over half (51%) of those who do cycle share this view. (ATT Statistical Release)

Cycling UK believes that, unluckily, the behaviour and attitudes of some road users, sub-standard highway layout and motor traffic volume and speed all conspire to make cycling feel and look more dangerous than it actually is.

Risk per billion miles: is it going up or down?

We think it`s significant not to measure the risk of cycling by the number of cyclist casualties alone (i.e. absolute numbers). How much cycling is going on comes into it too: i.e. more cycling casualties could simply reflect the fact that more people are out on their bikes. We therefore look at the risk of cycling per mile (or per excursion) etc.:

Calculations based on traffic counts suggest that the risk of being killed whilst cycling per billion miles cycled has dropped since 2005. In contrast, however, when cyclist fatalities are combined with reported serious injuries (KSI), the record for latest years is mixed, but it seems clear that the risk is higher than the 2005-2009 baseline average:

Source for both the above charts: RRCGB (RAS 30013).

For more background on cyclist road casualties, see:

Cycling UK news story on the Dept for Transport’s ‘Reported Road Casualties Fine Britain 2015’ (published September 2016)
Dept for Transport’s useful summary, Concentrate on Pedal Cyclists

The ‘safety in numbers’ effect

There is good evidence to suggest that enhancing cycling exposes each individual to a lower risk of injury: a doubling in cycling has been linked with a 40% increase in cycling casualties – or a 34% reduction in the relative risk to each individual. In 2009, Cycling UK compiled evidence from over one hundred English local authorities and found that it emerges to be less risky to cycle in places where there are higher levels of cycle commuting. Providing well for cycling, of course, is key to such success.

See our Safety in Numbers campaign for more.

Absolute numbers

In absolute numbers, reported cyclist casualties for the last few years are as goes after:

Source RRCGB (RAS 30001)

How risky is cycling when compared to other forms of transport?

Per mile, cyclists are about as likely as pedestrians to be killed on the roads – in fact, in both two thousand fourteen and 2015, pedestrians seemed to be more at risk. Cycling and walking, however, are both more risky than car driving, albeit motorcycling is the most risky kind of transport of all – around three – Three.Five times more so than walking or cycling:

Source: RRCGB (RAS 30070)

21. How many cycles are stolen in England and Wales?

Bike security is a serious concern for cyclists and anyone who’s thinking of taking up cycling – thousands of machines are stolen every year.

According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales victimisation survey, there were an estimated 297,000 incidents of bicycle theft in 2016, down 10% on 2015, and 52% on 1995. This suggests that around twenty three out of every 1,000 bike-owning households were affected by bike theft in 2016.

Not every bike theft incident is reported to or recorded by the police. In 2016, the police recorded 90,910 bicycle theft crimes, 4% more than the year before, but 20% less than 2005/06.

Key to main sources:

ACMRScot = Annual Cycling Monitoring Report (Scotland)
APS = Active People Survey
ATT = British Social Attitudes Survey: Public Attitudes Towards Transport
ATWCWales = Active travel: walking and cycling reports (Wales)
CensusEW = Census 2011, England and Wales
CensusS = Census 2011, Scotland
NTS = National Travel Survey
RRCGB = Reported Road Casualties Superb Britain (annual report)
STS = Scottish Transport Statistics (search ‘Statistics’ for latest edition)
TRA = Road Traffic Statistics
TTS = Transport and Travel in Scotland

More on our sources:

Active People Survey, Sport England/DfT (APS): an annual household telephone survey of adults aged 16+, run by Sport England. The sample size is usually around 160,000 persons, thus enabling analysis at local authority level. The very first cycling and walking collection was published in 2012, and covered 2010-11.

Active travel: Walking and Cycling, Welsh Government (ATWCWales): statistical bulletin setting out a range of baseline information about active travel by people in Wales. The data are collected from the National Survey for Wales.

Annual Cycling Monitoring Report, Cycling Scotland (ACMRScot): a collection of key cycling statistics and trends to help monitor the progress of the Cycling Act Plan for Scotland two thousand thirteen (CAPS). Looks at trends and statistics from both a national and local point of view, using a multiplicity of sources (e.g. the Scottish Household Survey, Scottish Census etc.).

British Social Attitudes Survey: Public Attitudes towards Transport, Dept for Transport (ATT): the results of the transport-related questions asked in a representative household survey of adults aged eighteen and over. The broader survey collects data on public attitudes towards a range of topics through a combination of face-to-face interviews and self-completed questionnaires. The sample size for the interviews was over Four,000 in 2015, of whom around Trio,300 packed in the questionnaire.

Census 2011, England and Wales (CensusEW), cycling analysis, Office of National Statistics (Census): the Census is a count of people and households, so far conducted every ten years. It includes a question on travel to work. The population of England and Wales on Census Day, twenty seven March 2011, was 56,075,912.

Census 2011, Scotland (CensusS), Scottish Government. Census of every person and household in Scotland collected every ten years since one thousand eight hundred one (apart from 1941).

National Travel Survey, Dept for Transport (NTS): a national survey of people’s travel habits, using face-to-face interviews and self-completed written travel diaries. Now that the survey covers England alone, it is based on a representative sample of around 13,000 private households. It includes all age groups, including children.

Note: In 2013, NTS coverage switched from sampling residents of all Superb Britain to residents of England only. However, the results for England alone do not differ very much from those from Scotland and Wales. For cycling stats specific to Scotland or Wales, see: Cycling Scotland’s Annual Cycling Monitoring Report and Transport Scotland’s Private Transport web page; and the Welsh Government’s reports on active travel: walking and cycling.

Reported Road Casualties Excellent Britain, Dept for Transport (RRCGB): annual report providing detailed statistics about the circumstances of individual injury incidents on British roads, including the types of vehicles involved, the resulting casualties, and ‘contributory factors’. Most of the statistics come from ‘STATS Nineteen` forms that the police pack in for each reported incident. Not every non-fatal road crash gets as far as the police, of course, and it is known that incidents involving pedal cyclists are under-reported.

Road Traffic Statistics, Dept for Transport (TRA): annual road traffic estimates mainly based on around ten thousand manual counts, which are combined with data from a national network of around one hundred eighty automatic traffic counters (ATC) data, plus road lengths to produce overall estimates.

Scottish Transport Statistics, Transport Scotland (STS): a comprehensive statistical picture of transport activity in Scotand, covering a broad range of topics.

Transport and Travel in Scotland, Transport Scotland (TTS): annual bulletin presenting the answers to the transport and travel related questions in the Scottish Household Survey (including the travel diary). Also uses data from a range of sources to provide context. In 2015, the survey and diary had around 9,400 respondents.

Information for journalists

If you would like more information or an interview about cycling, contact Cycling UK’s press office on one thousand four hundred eighty three 238 three hundred fifteen or 07786320713.

This page was last updated in October two thousand sixteen by Cherry Allan, Cycling UK’s policy and information coordinator.

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