Cycling Motorists

Against a background of growing traffic congestion, increasing health and fitness concerns, as well as a need to reduce CO2 emissions, Cycling Motorists answers the key questions on which policies would encourage or discourage motorists to consider cycling as an alternative to the car. Getting more motorists riding instead of driving could give cycling its biggest boost in popularity.

Motorists are motorists only when they drive. They are also pedestrians, bus and train passengers. When they ride a bike, they are cyclists.

Most motorists learned to ride bikes as children, many continued through adolescence, and some cycle regularly or occasionally. Many still own a bicycle but no longer ride it.

Cycling Motorists focuses on motorists who ride a bike at some time; the IAM survey suggests there are many – up to five million who ride regularly and seven million who ride infrequently.

Can cycling motorists be persuaded to ride more? Can motorists who have a bike but never ride be persuaded to renovate it and ride again? Can motorists who know how to cycle be encouraged to buy a bike and cycle again?

This is a new dimension for cycling. This study reveals that many millions of motorists already cycle, some could be persuaded to cycle more, and many others could take up cycling again. But new strategies are needed to encourage motorists who cycle to do more and to persuade more motorists to start cycling.