OPINION


high-quality cycle training, roads become safer, and cycling becomes an increasingly viable travel option. But despite Bikeability’s proven successes, there’s a critical barrier to widespread cycling uptake: access to a cycle. One in four children aged 5–10 in the UK don’t own or have access to their own cycle and, over the past two decades, access has decreased by 11% for ages 5–10 and 12% for ages 11–16 – although recent Bicycle Association Market Data shows green shoots are starting with a welcome new increase in children’s cycle sales. But I worry about those thousands of children who aren’t able to travel freely and independently, putting skills into regular practice, because of circumstance and the pressure the cost-of-living puts on family finances. I come face-to-face with the consequences of this every


day, meeting children who have completed Level 2, feeling ready to cycle independently, but who are unable to translate that confidence to their everyday life. I’ve heard from parents who wish they could cycle with their children, but can’t afford to. And I hear from hundreds of schools that are trying to encourage active travel, but whose efforts are constrained by the reality that many of their pupils don’t have the means. It’s why last year we funded more than 4,700 cycles for schools and training providers to support Level 2, and our Get Cycling in Schools programme, which puts early cycle training in the hands of teachers. These interventions are transformative for the children


they reach, and our ten-year vision is to bring cycle skills and opportunities to a million children a year, a


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May 2026 | 19


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