It is a mantra on Treehugger that three things are needed for a bike and e-bike revolution: good affordable bikes, safe places to ride, and secure places to park. But all three things are not of equal weight. A new study, “Barriers and enablers of bike riding for transport and recreational purposes in Australia,” based on surveys in Melbourne, finds that the fear of being squished by a car far outweighs any other consideration.

One would think that Melbourne would be bicycle heaven, with its relatively flat topography and moderate climate. Yet overall, only 1.7% of trips are made by bike.

The cycling rate gets higher in the inner city areas but is still very low. Study author Lauren Pearson noted in an earlier article that the infrastructure is not terrific, with 99% of existing on-ride bike infrastructure being painted bike lanes with no separation. The bike lanes also don’t necessarily go where people want to go:

“Common to many cities in Australia and around the world is what’s known as the ‘radial planning fallacy,’ where transport systems are designed to optimise trips from outer-urban areas to city centres or businesses, rather than to facilitate local trips. The majority of protected bike paths or lanes in Melbourne are radial in design, with a lack of connectivity between existing paths.”

The new study differentiated between recreational riders and those using their bikes for transportation, asking which factors deter them from riding and which encourage or enable them.

As seen in the table, three of the top four reasons for not riding were directly related to being squished by cars. The study notes, “Consistent with previous literature, over half of the sample reported barriers that related to physical separation between people riding cars and motor vehicle traffic.