Week 8; Better together?! Sharing info, skills and knowledge. Why collaborating is key for lasting change
CALLING ALL...
Cyclists, non-cyclists, want to be cyclists, never going to be cyclists, students, staff, mothers, daughters... basically I would love to hear feedback from everyone.
Over the last few months the number of people reading my wee blog has dramatically increased. People from all walks of life have been kind enough to share their feedback and encouragement to keep it going.
This week, the layout of the blog is a wee bit different. My aim is to gain your feedback, thoughts and ideas about cycling and active travel.
I have created a super short survey to do this. The survey is estimated to take less than 3 minutes to fill out. So please please take the time to do it. I promise it is worthwhile.
Increasing active travel has huge potential to transform our society. Impacting the environment, our confidence, mood, motivation, sense of belonging, achievement and overall physical and mental well-being.
The problem
According to cycling UK, in 2017, less than 2% of people cycle to work, school or college. Over 78% drove, 3% walked and the other 17% used public transport. 76% of people in the UK own a car.
According the League of American Bicyclists, 0.57% of Americans cycle to work or college, less than 0.2% of which are women. These stats fluctuate slightly state by state. 88% of American’s own a car and over 79% drive to work everyday. The infrastructure in some states make it literally impossible for people to use public transport or active travel.
In order for us to tackle issues surrounding the climate change, physical and mental well-being and social isolation, we need to listen and support each other.
Having everyone’s voice heard is integral to this full process.
We need to communicate and work together to make a difference.
However, cultural change depends on people.
People need to see the importance of the change and the benefits need to be relatable and clear.
Change can't happen in isolation. In order for us to increase active travel and improve cycling rates, we need to collaborate, we need to communicate, share practices and work together.
Active travel promoter’s role
We need to base our work on the needs of the community. Different communities and groups will need different things.
We can’t just guess that people need a bike to cycle or may like to join a led ride.
We need feedback, contact and communication to know what to run for who and when.
Engaging with young people and gaining peoples feedback was integral in my previous role as a community educator and youth worker.
I ran workshops and sessions based on people’s feedback and ideas. I also incorporated changes to sessions and regularly tried new ways of working.
I felt like this contributed massively to the success of the projects. The young people regularly expressed that they felt like they contributed and listened to. Whether we made homemade soup or ran confidence building sessions "we all felt a part of something, like we mattered" (quote from a young person I worked with from 2010-2017).
The survey has 9 mostly multiple choice questions surrounding different topics such as common barriers to cycling and potential incentives to get people on their bike.
The last question gives you chance to share your ideas and express your opinions.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WFZCZHH
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