Cycling to work gains ground in Tokyo

Nearly one in four people now prefer a bicycle instead of using public transportation to go to work in Tokyo as a way to avoid crowds, a recent survey found.

The survey, conducted in June by Japanese insurer Au Insurance Co, found that 23 percent of 500 people in Tokyo who cycle to work at least once a week "started commuting by bicycle after the coronavirus began to spread".

Answering a multiple-choice question survey, 95.7 percent of those who started cycling to work recently said that they did so "in order to avoid using public transportation for commutes".

Some 88 percent of respondents said that they felt that their risk of contracting the virus was lower when they commuted by bicycle compared with using public transportation.

Public transportation, including trains and buses, are the most common way of commuting in Tokyo where 8 million people spend an average of 80 minutes on trains filled to over 200 percent of capacity every day.

'New normal'

Although information on infections in Japan contracted on public transportation was not available, many said that the number could be quite huge given that public transportation fell under the"3Cs"－confined spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings－which should be avoided to prevent the spread of the virus.

"The number of people cycling to work is expected to increase as the 'new normal' of coexisting with the virus gains attention," the insurance company said in its news release.

On Monday, 168 new cases were reported in Tokyo, down 20 from 188 on Sunday as Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the police would inspect bars and nightclubs, a source of recent outbreaks, to check if they were taking measures against the virus.

Suga said the police could urge operators to take more measures and comply with the law, adding that he believed such actions could help prevent the virus from spreading further.

In a TV program on Sunday, Suga said that the government planned to revise the existing special law for combating the coronavirus to give greater authority to local governments.

"A program to compensate businesses that comply with closure requests based on the law should also be prepared," Suga said.

Many prefectural governors had called for penalties for non-compliance with business closure requests.

Agencies contributed to this story.