In The Event Of A Rise In Fuel Prices, Russians Are Ready To Switch To Bicycles

VTsIOM asked 1,600 drivers in Russia how often they use their car and what reasons might induce them to drive less often. As the main reason, 47 percent of respondents named a possible rise in fuel prices.

• Other reasons for abandoning cars were the cost of maintaining a car (16 percent of those surveyed), personal financial hardship (15 percent), traffic jams (14 percent), environmental concerns (8 percent) and bad roads (7 percent).

• Currently, 67 percent of Russian families have at least one car, and 18 percent have more than one. Of those who drive a car every day (and this is 70 percent of the respondents on average in Russia, and only 55 percent in Moscow and St. Petersburg), only 22 percent agree to drive less often. The same number of respondents are not ready to take such a step at all - because of the work related to driving. 14 percent of the respondents do not want to give up their personal car because they regularly take their children to school, 13 percent drive it to work, shops or for personal business (9 percent) or simply do not want to give up comfortable travel and save time (8 percent).

• Of the vehicles for which Russian drivers are ready to change their personal car, 43 percent of the respondents chose a bicycle (of which 56 percent are aged 25-34, and the rest fall into the 35-44 age group), 33 percent - an electric car (51 percent of respondents - from 18 to 24 years old). An electric moped or scooter was preferred by 10 percent of those surveyed.
• The survey was timed to coincide with World Car Free Day, which will be held on September 22.