BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Each month in BikeBiz we will be throwing some light on our corner of the trade – the Cycle to Work scheme. We’ll be sharing valuable information, news and updates, along with indulging in some comments of the cycling industry and topical events.
This month we have been asking ourselves – how many cyclists are new cyclists?
Statistics on the bike trade are hard to come by. Thanks to the network of IBDs we work with, the tens of thousands of clients we administer Cycle to Work schemes for and the hundreds of thousands of people who have acquired a bike through Cyclescheme, we have accrued a wealth of data.
IBDs are the lifeblood of the industry and are a big part of the reason that over 300,000 people are now commuting to work by bike. But what do these people think? What are their buying habits? What does the typical customer look for?
In a recent survey (of over 16,000 Cyclescheme participants), we found that 52.1 per cent of people did not cycle to work before joining the scheme and that 71.3 per cent would not have bought a bike had it not been offered via the Cycle to Work scheme. Those figures are astonishing. If we, rather crudely, gross up this figure it indicates that over 213,900 people would not have obtained a bike had it not been for the Cycle to Work scheme. What this also highlights is the important role IBDs play in getting Britain cycling.
Recent campaigns and initiatives have made great progress in voicing the need for safer roads, better infrastructure and a greater awareness of cyclists. The cold hard truth, however, is that aside from the political issues; we simply need to get more bums on seats.
We are working as hard as ever to secure future business for the trade and are thrilled to announce that retail giant Tesco have selected us to administer their first Cycle to Work scheme. This means that 300,000 Tesco employees could soon be gracing your door.
Let’s make 2013 a big year for cycling.
Daniel Gillborn, director, Cyclescheme
www.cyclescheme.co.uk
