Lack of money and dedicated cycling areas combined with parent safety fears are driving a decline in Australian kids riding bikes, advocates say.
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We Ride Australia, which lobbies for cyclists, says the majority of young children aren't getting enough exercise and less than one third of primary students living within 2km of school ride, walk or scoot to class.
Stephen Hodge, We Ride national advocacy director, said there were many barriers to getting children to ride bikes, including a perceived lack of skills.
"[Parents think] children do not have sufficient riding skills to ride safely, which includes navigating local streets and road crossings with traffic that may have speed limits that are relatively high," he said.
Other fears include a lack of safe dedicated cycling areas that may lead to children riding on busy roads with traffic travelling at high speeds, as well as the idea of "stranger danger".
Bicycles are also simply too expensive for some families, Mr Hodge said.
Other parents may not have grown up riding which could influence whether they teach their kids.
How to get kids back on bikes
Schools, local governments and community groups are trying new ways to get children back on bikes.
In Sydney's Sutherland Shire a school cycling program trains both parents and teachers in skills such as bike repair and bike riding.
Other programs gamify cycling to encourage children to get involved, such as a Sunshine Coast initiative in Queensland where riders get rewards based on hours travelled by bike.
Using Bluetooth sensors parents enrolled in RideScore Active Schools get notifications when their children depart and arrive on their bikes.
At the end of the year, the champion receives a yellow jersey, just like the winner of the Tour de France.
Riding as important as swimming
We Ride's Stephen Hodge said it was important to get national awareness of the issue.
"Just the same way as we all believe our children should be safe at the beach so we commit to teaching them all to swim, we should also recognise the benefits when our children can walk, scoot and ride to school," he said.
"And develop a national approach to riding to school and bike education."
Mr Hodge also called for an extension of low speed limits around schools and dedicated funding for safe cycleways so children can avoid traffic.
