A BBC foreign correspondent has defended cargo bikes and her choice to use one instead of a car amid a host of spurious and, at times, strangely critical comments about her use of the bicycle to cover a climate protest in the Netherlands this weekend.
You might already be aware of Anna Holligan, the BBC reporter based out of the Netherlands, who regularly makes appearances on our live blog when she shares her Dutch News from the Cycle Path videos on social media. Doing pretty much exactly what they say on the tin, Holligan puts her broadcasting skills to entertaining and informative use, presenting followers a news round-up in the most Dutch way possible — while cycling somewhere on a cycle path. Hence the name.
This weekend, Holligan was reporting on the climate demonstration at The Hague, where Greta Thunberg was arrested twice, and shared the post below asking, "Is there any other way to cover a climate protest?"
Is there any other way to cover a climate protest…? 🌱 https://t.co/sYtbwBslw0pic.twitter.com/XzQdmnQdgK
— anna holligan 🎙 (@annaholligan) April 6, 2024
Such was the response to the post, the BBC foreign correspondent had soon penned several others, addressing comments about the cost of the model of cargo bike and clarifying that no, her employer had not paid for it either.
"I don't usually bother with this stuff but... I see people suggesting the BBC has somehow indulged me because I'm riding a £7,000 bike," she wrote. "I feel compelled to set the record straight on a couple of points.
"This is my personal bike. I paid for it. It hasn't cost the BBC a penny. I bought it in 2020 to do two 10km daily school runs. At the time the bike cost me around £4,000. Yes, it's a lot of money. This bike has replaced my car.
"I discovered it was a great tool for newsgathering and reporting too. Over the last four years, I've cycled 15,000km. This would have cost more than £1,000 in fuel. Some of which I could have claimed as expenses. Using my bike costs the BBC nothing. The end."
Sharing a photo showing how much the post blew up, with more than four million impressions on Twitter (X), Holligan admitted that she "didn't expect to generate such debate and engagement".
"Realise I'm privileged to be able to work hard in a job I love to generate enough to afford this bike. It has saved many emissions and euros… but [the] real reason I invested? For time it bought me, to work and spend with my child."
The posts caused plenty of discussion, road safety campaigner CyclingMikey saying he "wouldn't give much credence" to the "very strange and hateful trolls around", adding "of course it's logical to use such a bike for the school run and shopping in the Netherlands".
Dr Jonathan Leach, a GP at Davenal House Surgery in Bromsgrove, called the cargo bike use "brilliant".
"I do home visits to my patients by Brompton. Yes, it is not the cheapest bike, but like you I sold a car to purchase it. It costs me about a set of tyres, brake pads and chain per year. Much less than the car it replaced irrespective of other benefits."
Others also made the cost comparison versus a car point, some questioning why a bicycle is automatically seen as an incredibly expensive luxury even if it costs far less than a vehicle that would be viewed as inexpensive or a budget-friendly purchase?
Retired journalist Tony Vogel said: "I'm always amused when people who own cars that cost £20,000 are scandalised by folks who ride £5,000 bikes."
Strange that you get criticised for riding an ‘expensive’ bike. I don’t think anybody would be critical about a £7000 car…
(but maybe people outside the Netherlands can not imagine that overhere, a bike can actually replace a car)— Jasper Vis (@Vision23) April 7, 2024
When you ride a €20.000 car no one cares, but when you decide to take the smarter, cheaper and faster choice to travel around a crowded city, people start envying you
Two wheels and strong legs are all you need in the city.
— Danny de Vreede (@DannyFietst) April 7, 2024
Two wheels and strong legs are all you need in the city.We heard similar arguments last year when Adrian Chiles used his Guardian column to claim that cargo bikes costing £3,999 are a "new kind of class politics".
"I saw one for sale outside a bike shop," he wrote. "I glanced at the price tag, walked on, did a double take, and took a closer look. I was having trouble with some new contact lenses, so I gave my eyes a bit of a rub to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. £3,999! I swear even the dog stood stock still and went 'Huh?' in the manner of Scooby-Doo. I scanned the pavement in case a decimal point had fallen off, but no joy. Four grand! Who knew?
"And now all I see is cargo bikes, which I notice fall into two categories. There are the four-grand ones, pedalled by (obviously) affluent parents. But most of them, probably just as expensive, are ridden by the decidedly unaffluent, slogging around being paid peanuts to supply the affluent with takeaways and assorted other essentials of modern life."