Cycling worth £3bn a year to the UK Economy

vivatifosi

Something a bit different in the press round-up:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/aug/21/cycling-3bn-uk-economy-study

Cycling generates nearly £3bn a year for the UK economy, according to a report from the London School of Economics. The figure includes £51m in revenue for British manufacturers from the 3.7m cycles sold in 2010 – a rise of 28% on 2009.
The gross cycling contribution of £2.9bn for the economy takes into account factors such as bicycle manufacturing, cycle and accessory retail and cycle-related employment.

Commissioned by the broadcaster Sky and British Cycling, the report said every cyclist in the UK has a "gross cycling product" of £233 annually.

Wookster

How interesting. That's a reasonable slug of GDP!

There's been a fair bit on exercise and its ability to lengthen life (compared to TV which can be as hazardous as smoking). More here:http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/aug/16/benefits-daily-exercise-smoking

I would really like to see more done to enable people to build exercise into their daily/ weekly routine. This would go a huge distance to solving the demographic time-bomb I'd suspect.

PasturesNew

If they flattened the roads out of my town it'd be a help.... there's a 25% high hill in any direction. And if you make it up those, the roads are narrow/dangerous and all up/down with a 20-25% gradient (with hair pin bends) every couple of miles.

Typing burns 100 calories/hour ... so we could just sit and type about exercise.

Generali

Wookster wrote: »

How interesting. That's a reasonable slug of GDP!

There's been a fair bit on exercise and its ability to lengthen life (compared to TV which can be as hazardous as smoking). More here:http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/aug/16/benefits-daily-exercise-smoking

I would really like to see more done to enable people to build exercise into their daily/ weekly routine. This would go a huge distance to solving the demographic time-bomb I'd suspect.

In fairness it's pretty easy to get some exercise. There are few people that can't afford to go for a walk. Hell if have a veggie patch in the garden/allotment then you're being paid to exercise. Ditto if you cycle to work.

Wookster

Generali wrote: »

In fairness it's pretty easy to get some exercise. There are few people that can't afford to go for a walk. Hell if have a veggie patch in the garden/allotment then you're being paid to exercise. Ditto if you cycle to work.

Walking is easy but its not for everyone (me included). There is a 4 year (!) wait for an allotment in my Borough.

custardy

4 posts and no mention of eeding insurance,road tax or jumping red lights
a new record!

HappyMJ

Is cycling really that expensive? The contribution to the UK economy is £2.9billion (retail sector sale are £2.47bn). Read the report the number of cycle journeys made is 2010 was 208million. A simple division means that each journey costs just under £14 and there is an average of 16 cycle journeys per year per cyclist. Read the report further and the average journey length is under 3 miles. So it costs about £5 a mile to ride a bike. hmmmmm. I thinks something is wrong with the numbers.

custardy

HappyMJ wrote: »

Is cycling really that expensive? The contribution to the UK economy is £2.9billion (retail sector sale are £2.47bn). Read the report the number of cycle journeys made is 2010 was 208million. A simple division means that each journey costs just under £14 and there is an average of 16 cycle journeys per year per cyclist. Read the report further and the average journey length is under 3 miles. So it costs about £5 a mile to ride a bike. hmmmmm. I thinks something is wrong with the numbers.

when people are throwing £000s on new bikes and components it soon adds up
whats a journey?
what about off roaders,track users? are they included?

martinthebandit

HappyMJ wrote: »

Is cycling really that expensive? The contribution to the UK economy is £2.9billion (retail sector sale are £2.47bn). Read the report the number of cycle journeys made is 2010 was 208million. A simple division means that each journey costs just under £14 and there is an average of 16 cycle journeys per year per cyclist. Read the report further and the average journey length is under 3 miles. So it costs about £5 a mile to ride a bike. hmmmmm. I thinks something is wrong with the numbers.

Aye, yet another report that appears to be written for a self interest group, which comes out with the numbers the reports commisioners wanted.

MFW_10Yrs_3

Wookster wrote: »

I would really like to see more done to enable people to build exercise into their daily/ weekly routine. This would go a huge distance to solving the demographic time-bomb I'd suspect.

Totally agree. I do a lot of off-road cycling but never feel safe on roads to actually cycle to work. In other countries in Europe there seems to be a greater commitment to making cycling safer. Here we have yellow lines painted onto our busy roads, which peter out after a while or end up clogged with parked cars.

MFW_10Yrs_3

I wonder if they include costs such as paying to cycle in velodromes? I had a taster day with 10 mates and we had a whale of a time. Bit pricey though, rather scary on the high banking but brilliant fun.