Pedal for the people: 1 in 3 PH households using bikes–SWS
EXCLUSIVE LANE Cyclists pass through the bike lane along Edsa. Composed of six sections, the bike lanes stretch from Edsa Aurora to Magallanes southbound. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Households turning to cycling for everyday transport, livelihood or recreation are on the rise across the country, with one out of every three families having at least one member who uses a bike, according to survey results released on Thursday by Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The survey, conducted from March 26 to March 29, showed that 36 percent of Filipino households—or an estimated 10 million nationwide—have a regular biker as member.
The latest figure represents an increase from the 29 percent (7.3 million) recorded in April 2022, and 12 points higher than the 24 percent (estimated 6.2 million) in May 2021.
Among all households this year, 23 percent (estimated at 6.4 million) use their own bicycles while 13 percent (estimated at 3.6 million) use borrowed bicycles.
Twenty-seven percent (7.5 million) said they go biking for recreational activities—from 18 percent (4.7 million) in April 2022 and 9 percent (2.3 million) in May 2021. Recreational activities include sightseeing, exercise and play.
Savings, weight loss
Those who use bikes for “essential activities”—like going to the workplace, earning a livelihood or running errands—also rose to 24 percent (6.7 million) in 2023 from 21 percent (5.4 million) in April 2022 and 19 percent (4.7 million) in May 2021.
When asked about the reasons why they prefer bikes to other modes of transport, 56 percent of the households (5.6 million) said it allowed them to save on transportation fares while 46 percent (4.6 million) cited the health benefits.
Twenty-seven percent (2.7 million) said biking reduces their travel time, 17 percent (1.7 million) said it helps in reducing one’s weight, 8 percent (774,000) found it to be a good form of recreation, while 7 percent (715,000) said biking opens opportunities to meet more people and make new friends.
Two percent (239,000) considered biking to be most useful for essential activities, while 1 percent (62,000) said it allowed them to save money in general.
The SWS survey used face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult respondents and had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.8 percent for national percentages, and plus-or-minus 5.7 each for Metro Manila, Luzon outside Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao. (See related column in Opinion, Page A6)
