Teach our children cycling? We’d rather pay the experts!
ONCE, learning to ride a bike would cost a family no more than a few grazed knees and some frayed nerves.
These days, however, instead of teaching their children this basic skill themselves, parents are sending them to professional instructors – for double the cost of driving lessons.
One in three parents have paid for bike lessons for their children, according to a survey, spending an average of £143.63 per child.
However, some parents admitted to spending as much as £3,500 on the lessons.
Cycling tuition can cost up to £ 40 an hour, irrespective of whether the learner is an adult or child. Other classes charge £25 to be part of a group session. Parents may also have to pay extra for bike and helmet hire.
Meanwhile, driving instructors typically charge between £20 and £25 per hour-long session, which includes fuel costs. Many councils, as well as Transport for London, also offer free cycling sessions.
The AA, which charges £25 for driving lessons, accused private cycling tutors of ‘charging through the nose’.
Spokesman Luke Bosdet said: ‘Of course, somebody is giving their time to provide these sessions but ... to be asked for £25 to be part of a group session means someone is absolutely minting it.
‘These very high costs also freeze out the less well- off youngsters. Why should they lose out because someone wants to charge through the nose for a bike lesson?’
Chris Bennett, of cycle campaign group Sustrans, added: ‘We would always advise parents to check what cycle training their local council or child’s school is offering.’
Of the 1,016 parents surveyed by discount website MyVoucherCodes, a third said they had paid for someone to teach their child to ride a bike.
When asked why, 33 per cent admitted they did not have the patience to teach their child.
Meanwhile, 20 per cent said they feel they do not know how to instruct their child effectively, and 18 per cent said they did not have the time.
Another 12 per cent said they cannot ride a bike themselves. Among the firms charging £40 an hour for ‘ beginner’ sessions is Micycle in Islington, North London. It charges an extra £5 for bike hire. Popcycle, also in North London, charges £30 per hour and advises learners take up to five classes. Bike rental is £5 and helmet rental £2.
The National Cycling Academy in Manchester charges £25 an hour for a group class, with Purrfect Pedalling in Solihull, West Midlands, charging £26.
Matthew Hilton of Micycle defended his firm’s charges, saying lessons are one-to- one and arranged at times to suit the customer. ‘Normally kids only need one, one-hour lesson before they are up and away,’ he said.
‘To learn to drive a car people often need 40-plus lessons, so the maths ... speaks for itself.’