More than two thirds in NI say ‘no way’ when asked if they would use a bike

More than two-thirds of people in Northern Ireland said ‘no way, no how’ when asked if they would consider using a bicycle.
More than two-thirds in NI said they would not consider using a bikeMore than two-thirds in NI said they would not consider using a bike
More than two-thirds in NI said they would not consider using a bike

The ‘Cycling in Northern Ireland 2019/20’ report revealed attitudes towards cycling here.

When asked to describe their attitudes to cycling; 3% described themselves as ‘strong and fearless’, 14% of respondents were ‘enthused and confident’, 16% said they were ‘interested, but concerned’.

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But more than two thirds (67%) of respondents considered themselves to be in ‘No way, no how’ group.

A higher proportion of male respondents said they were ‘strong and fearless’ (5%) and ‘enthused and confident’ (20%) when it comes to cycling, compared with female respondents (1% and 7%, respectively).

Conversely, a higher proportion of female respondents (73%) said ‘no way, no how’ compared with 62% of male respondents.

In 2019/20, almost a third (32%) of respondents had access to a bicycle, down from 36% in 2017/18 and around the same as 2016/17 (32%).

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Bicycle access was highest among those aged 35-49 (43%) and 16-24 (40%) when compared to all other age groups. Access to a bicyle was lowest among those aged 65 and over (13%).

Overall, male respondents (37%) were more likely to have access to a bicycle compared with female respondents (27%).

Access to a bicycle was highest among respondents living in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council (41%), and lowest among respondents from Derry and Strabane District Council (22%).

In 2019/20, a quarter (25%) of respondents said that they had cycled in the last 4 weeks, similar to results from 2017/18 (27%), and down from 30% in 2016/17.

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Male respondents (31%) were more likely than female respondents (16%) to say they had cycled in the last 4 weeks.

Of the 210 respondents who said they had cycled in the last 4 weeks, almost two-fifths (39%) cycled at least once a fortnight, similar to previous years. One-fifth (20%) cycled once every 4 weeks and a small proportion (6%) said they cycled 5-7 days a week.

The most popular reasons for cycling in the last 4 weeks was for ‘exercise’ (87%) and because they ‘enjoy it’ (80%).