Photo courtesy of Yoav Lerman on Flickr

Statistics coming out of the UK tell a somewhat positive story about bicycling in that country. Things are moving slowly to be sure, but the statistics indicate that the shift is at least in the right direction, as more and more people are realizing the benefits of using bicycles for everyday transport. Here are some highlights from the statistics (see the full stats here): British Cycling membership has swelled to 33,000 members with an increase of 16 percent in the past 12 months. The highest level of membership since the organization formed in 1959

London has seen the biggest boom in cycling with over 110% increase since 2000

Retail sales for bicycles have increased by more than 15 per cent in the last year while spending on cars has fallen from £40bn to £35bn

The reported fatalities per KM travelled has nearly halved in the past two decades (for both bicyclists and pedestrians)

Cycle Rates in the UK vary tremendously depending on local factors. The highest rates of cycling occur in university towns such as Cambridge, Oxford and York, with rates of greater than 20%

On a sadder note, in 1949 there were 24 billion kms cycled in the UK – 33% of all the vehicle miles travelled. By 2009 this had fallen to 5 billion kms, just 1% of vehicle miles

Graph provided by cyclinginfo.co.uk

Graph provided by cyclinginfo.co.uk

Graph provided by cyclinginfo.co.uk

The UK no doubt still has a long way to go to increase its rate of cycling to even come close to the Netherlands, Denmark, or even Germany. But hopefully these small gains are the beginning of a broader shift in the United Kingdom and hopefully the UK will reach a tipping point within the next decade.

To view the full statistics, check out the cycling info website or go directly to the source, the National Travel Survey.

James D. Schwartz is the editor of The Urban Country. You can contact James at james.schwartz@theurbancountry.com.

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