Despite government initiatives to encourage cycling, only 7% of the nation commutes to work with a bike.

26% of UK adults think it’s too dangerous to commute by bike

The study of more than 7,600 UK adults published by Decathlon found more than one in 4 (26%) of respondents still feel it is too dangerous to cycle to work. This was followed by 21% who said they are still too scared to cycle the roads to work.

Meanwhile, 21% also said that the distance to their place of work is too far to travel via bike. A total of 17% admitted they don’t even own a bike, even though cycle to work schemes are making this more viable for commuters, with 183,423 employees picking up this scheme in 2014. A further 1 in 7 confessed that they actually don’t like cycling.

Philippe Rebelo, UK marketing director at Decathlon, commented: “It is clear to see that not many of us actually choose to commute to our workplace with a bicycle. This is despite the Government increasing the spend on cycling, with improvements for cycle to work schemes and even overhauls of roads in cities to accommodate cyclists.”

Rebelo continued: “There are many advantages of cycling to work that people seem to be missing out on – commuting to work via a bicycle is a great way to form a healthier lifestyle, it is cheaper and is better than other options. Even better, those without a bike can get one via the Government’s Bike To Work scheme – and there are a number of bikes that can be rented in UK cities too.”