Figures show Oldham has sixth lowest cycling rate in England

New figures from the Department for Transport show the proportion of people regularly cycling has decreased compared to 2020 and 2019.

Active travel campaigners say enabling active travel is important in the cost-of-living crisis, with fuel costs rising.

The annual Active Lives Survey measures how often individuals exercise and is carried out continuously throughout the year.

According to the survey, 41 per cent fewer people cycled in 2021 than in 2020, with 3.3 per cent of adults in Oldham cycling at least once a week in the year to November 2021, down from 5.6 per cent in 2020.

This was also a drop from four per cent in the year to November 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic boosted cycling.

It means Oldham had the sixth lowest proportion of weekly cyclists anywhere in England last year, and the lowest in Greater Manchester.

Neighbouring Tameside had the seventh lowest in England.

Oldhamers were less than half as likely to cycle regularly than Greater Mancunians as a whole. Cambridge had the highest proportion of regular cyclists in England, with more than 42 per cent of adults cycling weekly.

Campaigners weigh in

Sustrans, a campaign group for better walking and cycling, said the figures show there is still a need to make active travel “safe, accessible, and welcoming.”

A spokesperson said: “During the pandemic, when there were fewer cars on the road, the public took to their bikes.

“It’s sad to see this return to expensive and pollutant car use, especially as the urgency for alternatives has only increased, alongside the cost of living.”

Previous reporting by The Oldham Times shows a correlation with Oldham’s more deprived areas being less likely to own a car.

The AA’s stance

Edmund King, president of the AA motoring association, said the Government has missed a chance to better promote walking and cycling.

Mr King added: “The reversal of lockdown trends points to the Government and councils’ failure to seize the opportunity to ingrain and promote more of those changed behaviours into the way the UK travels.”

Transport for Greater Manchester’s view

A Transport for Greater Manchester spokesperson said: “We’re in the process of delivering the largest cycling and walking network in the UK, as part of the region’s Bee Network vision, connecting up Greater Manchester so that it is easy, safe and attractive for people to walk, cycle or wheel for everyday trips.

“This is a £1.5 billion plan to create a network consisting of around 1,800 miles of routes and 2,400 new crossings connecting neighbourhoods, schools, high streets and public transport hubs in the city-region.

“There are multiple Active Travel projects currently being delivered in Oldham, at varying stages of development, to improve cycling and walking accessibility in the local area. You can find out more about them on our website.”

Oldham Council referred to TfGM’s statement.

A Manchester City Centre Cargoroo hire bike

Government responds

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The Government is investing a record £2 billion over this Parliament to enable more walking, wheeling and cycling through better infrastructure, cycle training and active travel prescriptions.

“Though cycling levels have returned from the exceptional levels we saw during the pandemic, we remain fully confident our investment will enable many more people to choose walking and cycling for everyday journeys by 2030.”