Almost two-thirds (64%) of those questioned in the latest National Travel Attitudes Study (NTAS) supported the creation of more dedicated cycle lanes, even if it meant less road space for vehicles.
The survey, which covers England and asked the opinions of over 2,500 adults over 16 years old, looked to discover the barriers to cycling and public views on e-bikes.
When asked which factors would encourage them to cycle more, reasons related to cycling infrastructure and safety were mentioned most often. Off-road and segregated cycle paths (55%) and safer roads (53%) were both mentioned by more than half of the sample.
Other motivations related to infrastructure that were mentioned by a substantial share of respondents include well-maintained road surfaces for cycling (49%), more direct cycle routes (43%) and raising awareness of local cycle routes (36%).
Those who answered that safer roads would encourage them to cycle more were offered a follow-up question, in which they were asked how important they consider four different aspects of safer roads.
Nearly all respondents (98%) stated that more considerate drivers are either very important or fairly important in that regard.
Less traffic (88%) and slower driving speeds (86%) were also marked as important by a large proportion of the sample.
‘More roads where cars are banned or restricted for part of, or all of the time’ was considered important by two-thirds of the sample.
Additionally, on the subject of e-bikes over half of respondents stated that e-bikes were too expensive with nearly two in three indicated that they knew very little about the powered mobility mode.
The report found that discounts on hiring an e-bike would be one way to increase the usage, with a grant or incentive scheme also likely to accelerate e-bike adoption.
