Almost three quarters (73%) of women living in seven major UK cities never ride a bike for local journeys. Despite this, over two-thirds (68%) say their city would be a better place to live and work if more people cycled, new data reveals.
Women: reducing the gender gap, published by Sustrans, details women’s travel habits, views and attitudes towards cycling. The report, which is part of the Bike Life project, is based on an ICM independent survey of over 7,700 residents living in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Greater Manchester.
The report also revealed:
- Twice as many men as women (24:12) currently ride a bike at least once a week in all seven cities.
- Differences in participation between men and women appear to be less pronounced in cities with higher overall cycling uptake
- Across the cities, the vast majority of women surveyed (77%) feel that cycling safety needs to be improved and a further 59% view cycling as dangerous or unsafe.
- Despite these findings, almost a third (30%) who currently do not cycle say they would like to start riding. 76% of women who already cycle or want to start would find cycle lanes that are physically separated from traffic very helpful to cycle more.