The weather, distance to travel and arriving sweaty
In our last post we estimated both economic and health benefits should only 10% of Dublin car commuters switch to cycling. We didn’t just pluck the numbers from the air! In fact they are based on the results of a very interesting study carried out in Holland. The research was carried on behalf of Tineke Huizinga, the deputy minister for traffic and works. The ministry wished to examine the effect of cycling to work on absenteeism. Furthermore, the motives and the current cycling behaviour of Dutch employees was studied, as well as how many Dutch employers encourage cycling to work and their reasons for doing so.
http://www.tno.nl/downloads/reduced_sickness_absence_kvl_l_09_02_978Em_laag.pdf
799 employees and 879 employers were surveyed and the findings;
32% Employees say they cycle regularly – At least 3 times a week.
Those 32% cited health as the main reason.
Reasons for not cycling were weather, distance to work and arriving sweaty.
48% Employers say they promote cycling to work.
Those 48% help by providing the facilities like bike racks, showers, etc.
Government support, tangible evidence of benefits and cooperation with organisations that promote cycling are three key factors.
Their main conclusions were;
Employees who cycle to work regularly have less sick related absenteeism.
Higher frequency and longer cycle distances the lower the absenteeism.
So you see that the benefits of cycling are profoundly clear and the investments required in promoting and encouraging cycling are far less than those of major infrastructural projects such as the Luas. For CicuitCycles it is no surprise to us that the main reasons for Dutch employees not cycling are weather, distance to work and arriving sweaty. In our own research studies into the market in Ireland we have found the very same reasons for not cycling.
Now the question remains, is the electric bike enough to switch the non cyclists over to cycling? It’s a difficult one to answer because often what people say is not exactly representing how they feel. In surveys people feel compelled to give apparent logical answers to questions, when in fact it takes more observational studies as opposed to the classical survey in order to get a true insight. What we mean by observational studies is actually having a non cyclist try the electric bike. The results can be seen in their faces as they share their experiences of having switched to the electric bike. We know electric bikes will make a huge difference, in particular for the distance people would have to cycle and not arriving sweaty if you don’t wish to. The trend is really supportive of this in Holland, where nearly one in every 10 bikes sold now are electric bikes.
There is nothing we can do about the weather, in Holland you would think being flat is an advantage but they have stronger winds and the electric bike certainly helps here. For Ireland, what can we say about the weather that hasn’t been said already! Joking aside, you could count on one hand how bad experiences you have had with weather when cycling, more to follow on this………..< >
Tags: Lessons from the Dutch
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