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Your cycling fallacy is…

People with physical disabilities can’t cycle

“We shouldn’t provide for cycling, as it disadvantages people with physical disabilities”

The response

There are cycles available for almost every type of disability – it’s actually an inclusive mode of transport that will often act as a mobility aid for people who find walking difficult, people who can't walk far and even those who cannot walk at all.

Evidence from the Netherlands (and increasingly from the UK, where new infrastructure has been built) shows that high quality cycling infrastructure is often shared with wheelchairs, mobility scooters and other assistive modes of transport.

And in general, cycling infrastructure should go hand-in-hand with other improvements to the physical environment too – like smooth, continuous footways across side roads, for example.

So in fact the truth is the opposite of the myth – cycling actually gives people with physical disabilities more transport options and independence, not less.

man using handbike

Photo by The Alternative Department for Transport (Copyright, used with permission)

two older people riding bikes and a man using a motorised wheelchair

Photo by As Easy as Riding a Bike (Copyright, used with permission)

wheelchair cycling on new cycle infrastructure blackfriars road london

Photo by As Easy as Riding a Bike (Copyright, used with permission)

a wheelchair user uses a separated cycleway in london

Photo by Adam Reynolds (Copyright, used with permission)