Publication of Cycling in NI Report For May 2015 Now Available

Damien Merron cycling in the Gran Fondo last year.
Damien Merron cycling in the Gran Fondo last year.

The Cycling in Northern Ireland May 2015 report is now available.

This report presents findings from the May 2015 Omnibus Survey and was produced by the Central Statistics and Research Branch (CSRB) of the Department for Regional Development (DRD).

The publication is available on the CSRB website at:

www.drdni.gov.uk/articles/walking-and-cycling-0

Key points:

The key points from the report are:

Access to a bicycle
· A third (33%) of respondents own a bicycle.
· One in twenty (5%) respondents have use of a bicycle owned by someone else in the household whilst one in fifty (2%) have use of a bicycle owned by someone else outside the household.
Whether cycled in the last four weeks
· Over a quarter (27%) of respondents who own or have access to a bicycle had cycled in the last four weeks.

Frequency of cycling in the last four weeks

· Of the 106 respondents who had cycled in the last four weeks, just under a third (32%) cycled at least once a fortnight, almost three tenths (28%) cycled once a week, approximately a sixth (17%) cycled two to four days a week, just over a seventh (15%) cycled at least once a month and a twelfth (8%) cycled five to seven days a week.

Reasons for cycling

· Of the 106 respondents who had cycled in the last four weeks, the main reasons stated for cycling were for exercise (89%) and because they enjoy it (63%).

Attitudes to cycling
· Over half (54%) of all respondents were in the ‘No Way No How’ group i.e. they are not interested in cycling at all, as they are not able, or simply have no interest.

· A quarter (25%) were in ‘The Interested but Concerned’ group and almost a fifth (18%) were in ‘The Enthused and the Confident’ group.
· One in twenty-five (4%) respondents were in ‘The Strong and the Fearless’ group i.e. they will ride their bicycle regardless of roadway conditions and they consider cycling to be a strong part of their identity

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The information presented in this publication derives from the May 2015 Northern Ireland Omnibus Survey. The Omnibus Survey uses a representative sample of the Northern Ireland population.

A total of 2,200 addresses were selected for interview. These addresses were issued to a panel of 177 interviewers in the middle of April 2015. The fieldwork period was 5th May to the 6th June 2015. A total of 1,084 respondents completed the Cycling in Northern Ireland questions.

DRD will work towards making cycling an integral part of network planning and development and ensure that cycling provision is a key element in both strategy and delivery. It will also promote active travel.

The Department will use the information presented in this publication to ascertain the extent of and attitudes to cycling in Northern Ireland.

2. Official Statistics
This is an Official Statistics publication and therefore follows the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. You can find further information about the Code of Practice at:

http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html