CyclePig

Children Not Allowed to Bike to School

In the UK, 33% of children would like to cycle to school but less than 2% actually do. I am sure if I searched hard enough I could find a statistic like ‘80% of children would like to spend 5 hours a day using their playstation and 80% actually do’.

Photo by Jimme, Jackie, Tom & Asha

But despite a decline in bicycle journeys over the last few decades the news is not all bad. Some countries have a very high rate of cycle journeys, for example in The Netherlands nearly ALL children cycle to school. And in the UK it is Bike to School Week and there are some encouraging signs that cycling to school is making a comeback.

Bike to School Week

In the UK, the 5th-9th May is Bike to School Week. Leading the charge is Sustrans whose Bike It project has quadrupled children’s cycle journeys in its target schools.

Want to get your child started cycling? Bike for All has a great article on cycling to school.

5 Responses to “Children Not Allowed to Bike to School”

1. John Says:
   May 5th, 2008 at 11:34 am

   I wish I had biked to school when I was a kid. I didn’t learn to ride a bike till i was in my 30’s! What a waste.
   Seriously, I think the UK needs to invest more in safe cycling lanes for kids. We’re not even close to the Netherlands in terms of ‘cycle friendliness’. I do believe a few towns have embarked on a new effort to lay down safer dedicated cycle lanes and if they are succesful we may see the effort spread. Hope so.

2. thePig Says:
   May 5th, 2008 at 4:19 pm

   Thanks for your comments John.

   I was sent of on my bicycle to school when I was 6 - admittedly a little easier in Australia. I think every child should have the opportunity to cycle to school but we live in an age where parents are very protective of their kids.

   I am not sure that just more cycle lanes will do it.

3. bloggersmosaic Says:
   May 5th, 2008 at 7:25 pm

   gr8 post ,am 27 ,and i still looking for weekend just to use my bike

4. thePig Says:
   May 6th, 2008 at 9:51 am

   It definitely gets harder to find time during the week to cycle.

5. baby Says:
   June 16th, 2008 at 9:23 pm

   Nice website!!

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