Making cycling more accessible for disabled people
When we started designing a new project a few years ago, we had a few unanswered questions. We knew from our widespread work in communities that lots of disabled people find cycling to be an excellent and enabling way to move around.
We also knew from national statistics that almost 8 million people in the UK have a mobility impairment, but that disabled people were far less likely to cycle than non-disabled people. In the UK, 9% of disabled people cycle at least once a week, compared to 17% of non-disabled people.
So we asked ourselves:
- How would a disabled person go about starting to cycle for transport?
- What help and resources would be useful?
In exploring the answers to these questions, we created the Inclusive Cycling Experience. But we also wanted to understand how to design or adapt activities so that they can best meet the needs of disabled people and to share that knowledge.
As a result, we are proud to celebrate the publication of a new peer reviewed, open access article in Active Travel Studies: ‘What Works in Engaging Disabled People in Cycling for Active Travel? A Case Study of Cycling UK’s Inclusive Cycling Experience’.
Our research aim was to explore whether and how interventions can support disabled people to access cycling as a genuine, everyday transport option.
We already knew about the impressive impact of inclusive cycling on health and wellbeing, but we wanted to explore specifically what type of setup and support helps disabled people consider cycling as a means of transport or mobility aid.
Drawing on surveys, interviews and delivery learning, our article demonstrates the gains in independence, confidence, health, wellbeing and social inclusion, as well as increased use of cycling as a genuine transport option. Importantly, this research goes beyond outcomes. We identify how those impacts are achieved in practice, through:
- Flexible cycle loan models
- Tailored, individualised support
- Time and space for progression
- Consideration of storage and access
- Strong partnership working
These insights move the conversation beyond infrastructure alone and provide practical guidance for anyone designing equitable active travel programmes. Too often, the experiences of disabled people are underrepresented in transport research; this study helps to address that gap and ensures lived experience and delivery learning inform wider debates.
Publishing this work in an academic journal reinforces Cycling UK’s commitment to evidence-led policy and best practice. By subjecting our research to rigorous peer review, we are not only sharing what we do, but opening it up to scrutiny, learning and replication across the UK and beyond.
We want to be a thought leader in inclusive active travel. This research shows how frontline delivery, robust evaluation and academic analysis can come together to build the evidence base the sector urgently needs.
We are sharing this research with practitioners, funders and decision-makers to strengthen inclusive cycling provision and to recognise cycling as a realistic, empowering mode of everyday transport for disabled people.
By combining delivery expertise with rigorous research, Cycling UK is helping to set the standard for what good, inclusive active travel support looks like.
Particular thanks to lead author Kerry Griffiths, alongside Corra Boushel, Jenny Box and Alison Young for their input on the research, and the full Inclusive Cycling Experience teams in Inverness and Manchester for their invaluable contributions and expert delivery.
Thanks also to Wheels for Wellbeing for their insights supporting the Inclusive Cycling Experience, and the Motability Foundation for funding this research.
