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The aim of this study is to investigate perceptions of cycle commuting barriers in relation to stage of change, gender and occupational role. Stage of change is a key construct of the transtheoretical model of behaviour change that defines behavioural readiness (intentions and actions) into five distinct categories.

A cross‐sectional online questionnaire was completed by staff and PhD students (n=831) based in cycle‐friendly buildings in a large UK university. The questionnaire included questions relating to demographics, stages of behaviour change and 18 potential barriers. Data were analysed using t‐tests, one‐way ANOVAs and two‐way ANOVAs.

Overall, environmental factors were perceived as the biggest barriers to cycle commuting. However, perceptions of cycle commuting barriers significantly differed between stages of change, genders and occupational roles. Precontemplators, females and support staff commonly perceived greater barriers to cycle commuting compared to maintainers, males and academic staff.

The results indicate that tailored individual‐level behaviour change interventions focusing on reducing perceptions of barriers that take into account stage of change, gender and occupational differences may play a role in encouraging people to cycle to work.

The study reveals evidence of a significant subjective element involved in perception formation of some potential barriers associated with cycle commuting. Women not only hold stronger perceptions compared to males of risk‐orientated barriers but also of more general barriers associated with cycle commuting. The findings also suggest that occupational roles may influence an individual's perceptions of cycle commuting barriers.

This study aims to provide an in‐depth individual level understanding of the psychological factors that affect cycle commuting.

A total of 15 participants (eight cycle commuters and seven potential cycle commuters) from a “cycle‐friendly” employer based in a Scottish city took part in the study. Semi‐structured interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) were used to collect and analyse data.

The present study found that cyclists are more aware of the benefits of cycle commuting than potential cyclists. Those who did not currently cycle to work displayed a heightened awareness of the challenges of cycling to work, whereas cyclists reported more coping strategies for negotiating or overcoming the challenges involved in cycle commuting. These individual cognitions are potentially modifiable through psychological interventions.

Future research should be carried out on samples in different contexts to examine whether some of the findings would be supported in other populations.

The findings from this paper suggest that psychological interventions based on challenging perceptions of the benefits of and barriers to cycling may have a valuable role to play in enhancing cycle commuting rates.

This study uses IPA to explore the complexities of perceptions in relation to cycle commuting. It also brings to light the types of coping strategies used to enable cyclists to overcome some of their challenges associated with cycle commuting.

This paper aims to explore challenges and opportunities of shifting from physical to virtual employment support delivery prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It investigates associated changes in the nature and balance of support and implications for beneficiary engagement with programmes and job search.

The study draws on longitudinal interviews conducted with beneficiaries and delivery providers from a neighbourhood-based employment support initiative in an English region with a strong manufacturing heritage between 2019 and 2021. The initiative established prior to the Covid-19 pandemic involved a strong physical presence locally but switched to virtual delivery during Covid-19 lockdowns.

Moving long-term to an entirely virtual model would likely benefit some beneficiaries closer to or already in employment. Conversely, others, particularly lone parents, those further from employment, some older people and those without computer/Internet access and/or digital skills are likely to struggle to navigate virtual systems. The study emphasises the importance of blending the benefits of virtual delivery with aspects of place-based physical support.

Previous studies of neighbourhood-based employment policies indicate the benefits of localised face-to-face support for transforming communities. These were conducted prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the more widespread growth of virtual employment support. This study fills a gap regarding understanding the challenges and opportunities for different groups of beneficiaries when opportunities for physical encounters decline abruptly and support moves virtually.