The exponential rise in petrol/diesel prices has seen a dramatic increase in cycling.
New data reveals that in the past four months cycling levels are 54 per cent higher than before covid and 11 per cent up on the same period in 2020, when people were advised to avoid public transport.
According to The Times Transport Correspondent Ben Clatworthy:
The boom has been due in part to Britons using their cars less as fuel prices rise after the invasion of Ukraine.
“The surge in people cycling since March, particularly midweek, corresponds with rising costs of fuel and living in general,” said Sarah Mitchell, the chief executive of Cycling UK.
“It suggests they are turning to cycling for those shorter journeys out of necessity, for essential journeys like to work, the shops or school run.”
Fuel prices broke records this summer. The average price of a litre of diesel hit 199.22p and petrol 191.55p in early July.
Transport industry experts also believe that a rise in the number of Britons “offloading” second cars, used mostly for short trips, has contributed to the surge in the number of cyclists.
It won’t be long before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change produces a report which claims that this is all really rather good for the planet eh?
