WHY RIDE TO WORK?


June 20th, 2018.


The Motorcycle Industry Association’s (MCIA) Ride to Work (RTW) week kicked off on Monday, the 18th, and runs right the way through to Sunday the 24th of June 2018.

The MCIA conducted a survey, to coincide with the 2018 RTW week and found that ‘saving time and money, whilst having an enjoyable commute’ were two of the main reasons that people choose to commute by a motorcycle or scooter.

The MCIA says the survey highlights that riding to work has been shown as having a significant impact on well-being. With commuting a leading cause of stress from factors such as the misery of congested roads and overcrowded public transport, the MCIA further outlined that there is a heightened importance for employees to have a stress-free commute and for employers to support this.

The aim behind the survey was to identify why people ride to work, and how they would like to see riders supported in transport policy.

Why ride to work?
Over 400 riders shared their opinions via the survey. While ‘enjoyment’ topped reasons to ride to work (93 per cent), 64 per cent said, ‘saving time’ was important whilst 46 per cent said they did it to ‘save money’.

In contrast to popular belief, the weather appears immaterial as, nearly 60 per cent of riders claimed to ride through all seasons and weather conditions.

How should riders be supported?
There was a clear consensus on what needs to be done by transport planners and local authorities to help riders. They ranged from more secure parking, improved road surfaces and lane widths to allow safe filtering, which is legal in the UK. Additionally, there was strong support for greater access to bus lanes and access to cycle superhighways, which several respondents said are largely empty for most of the day. Access to cycle advance stop lines at junctions also received a regular mention, as this unfairly discriminated against riders.

Safe road space
As many towns and cities around the UK introduce cycle lanes, there is a worrying trend toward the narrowing of normal traffic lanes. Narrow lanes increase risk to riders who are trying to filter, many respondents suggesting road planners should think again.

How would you commute if not by motorcycle or scooter?
Of the 249 respondents who replied to the question ‘how would you get to work if you couldn’t ride?’, 60 per cent said they’d swap to a car, 20 per cent said they’d use public transport and nine per cent said they’d walk or cycle. Five per cent said they would not be able to get to their current job at all.

CEO of the MCIA, Tony Campbell, commented; “With the increasing number of commuters turning to motorcycles and scooters to travel to work, and the large rise in small parcel and food delivery by powered two wheelers, the government, on both national and local levels, must think carefully as to how this can be encouraged and accommodated safely.

“The government has set some clear goals around congestion and clean air, and so to ignore the contribution that motorcycles and scooters can offer appears a bit of a paradox.”

Find out more about Ride to Work Week at www.ridetoworkweek.co.uk where assets are available for downloading.
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