Bicycle Network: Measure & Understand
Telephone surveys
Telephone surveys are often used by local government to gather feedback from ratepayers and assess performance against benchmarks. They are a useful tool in gathering information about bike riding.
Thiis information was gathered as a series of questions in a Newspoll omnibus survey in 2004
Research shows that people would be more active and ride more if they had access to places to ride.
Newspoll survey (2004)
A Newspoll survey conducted in early February 2004 showed that less than half of people in outer Melbourne have access to a safe place to ride. Almost a quarter (24%) of those without easy access to a bike path said they would do more riding if there was a bike path nearby.
“This government is not giving enough people the chance to get active and healthy. They are denying them places to cycle and walk,” said Bicycle Network Victoria’s Campaigns Manager, Bart Sbeghen.
“Bicycle and walking paths are a proven way to get people moving. The Main Yarra Trail and the Bay Trail in Melbourne have over 1 million users each year. Yet this Government has stopped building these community health facilities. The result is that most Victorian children will grow up fat and inactive without a place to ride their bikes,” Mr Sbeghen said.
For a summary of the poll click here (PDF 49KB) and for the press release click here