Cycling: Is it time to swap four wheels for two?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 21 April 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Conflict in the Middle East has led to volatility in global oil prices, pushing up fuel costs worldwide. Previous oil shocks prompted some countries to reconsider their reliance on cars, investing in alternatives such as cycling. In some places, this has become part of everyday life, while elsewhere it has proved more contested, reflecting wider political and cultural divides.
Cycling offers benefits for health and the environment, but it is not practical for everyone. For many people, including those in rural areas or with limited mobility, cars remain everyday essentials.
As oil price volatility continues to affect motorists, questions remain about how far behaviour can change.
With contributions from Meredith Glaser, CEO of Urban Cycling Institution, professor of cycling at Ghent University, Belgium, and a senior lecturer at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Levke Sönksen, research associate at the German Institute of Urban Affairs, Germany; Dr Eunhye Enki Yoo, professor of Geography at the University of Buffalo, US and Martin Tillman, independent transport consultant, UAE.
Presenter: Gary O’Donoghue Producer: Matt Toulson Sound engineer: Richard Hannaford Editor: Tom Bigwood
(Photo: Cyclists ride bicycles in Amsterdam. Credit: George Clerk/Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Welcome to the inquiry from the BBC World Service. I'm Gary O'Donoghue. Each week, one question, four expert witnesses and an answer. |
| 0:17.0 | Once again, a war in the Middle East has shown the world how volatile oil prices can be. |
| 0:22.6 | The global economic crisis sparked by the war with Iran just got worse. |
| 0:26.6 | The price of gas in Europe is more than double the level seen before the conflict began. |
| 0:30.6 | I expect say gas stations are price takers, not price makers. |
| 0:33.6 | During the first few weeks of the US-Israel |
| 0:37.7 | war with Iran, a barrel of benchmark Brent crude rose more than 40%, creating huge spikes in petrol |
| 0:45.4 | prices for drivers, fertilizer prices for farmers and food prices. Some countries, such as Ireland, responded |
| 0:53.4 | by temporary cuts to fuel taxes. In parts of Australia, |
| 0:57.6 | public transport was made free while the crisis continues. And countries like Slovenia and |
| 1:03.3 | Bangladesh have introduced some form of fuel rationing. This isn't the first time that an oil crisis |
| 1:09.4 | has led to a rethink of how countries consume and preserve fuel. |
| 1:14.7 | During the early 1970s, a similar oil shock resulting from the Arab-Israeli war, also known as the Yom Kippur War, |
| 1:22.7 | saw the near quadrupling of oil prices in a few short months. |
| 1:30.4 | It led some countries to reshape their whole approach to car culture and to promote cycling as a cheaper, healthier, more environmentally friendly |
| 1:37.2 | form of transport, particularly in urban areas. So this week on the inquiry, we're asking, |
| 1:43.5 | is it time to swap four wheels for two? |
| 1:47.5 | Part one. Bike boom. |
| 1:52.3 | We're going to begin in a country where its citizens are outnumbered by bikes. |
| 1:57.2 | According to government statistics in the Netherlands, there's somewhere between 23 and 24 million bicycles |
| 2:03.4 | compared to around 18 million Dutch people. |
... |
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