#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No. 131

Hello and welcome to this week where rates of cycling remain stubbornly static…

Hello and welcome to this week where rates of cycling remain stubbornly static…but where consistent, substantial funding and prioritisation of active travel, and integration into the transport network, could still turn things around.

UK BIKE BOOM IS OFFICIALLY OVER

But there is hope. After all, most people want alternatives to motor vehicles for short journeys, too many of us are trapped in unaffordable car ownership, and cycling has a lot to offer on practically all fronts. We’re pushing at an open door, we just need to put our backs into it as a nation, financially speaking. 

BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY

CYCLING RATES AT TEN-YEAR LOW. England’s National Travel Survey data is out, and it’s the first full year since Covid restrictions were lifted, offering a direct comparison with 2019. The bad news is, cycling rates have hit a ten-year low, and remain at roughly 2% of all trips. Leisure trips, and cycling to education are up, while commuting cycling is down. Meanwhile, the difference in cycling rates between men and women remains stark. With warm words from the government last month on active travel, the reality is there’s work to do. 

THAT GOES FOR WALES, TOO. Wales’ Active Travel Board report notes that since the Active Travel Act 2013, cycling and walking in Wales has not increased significantly. New and improved routes, more funding, and integration with wider transport are needed, it says. At the current rate of funding, £19 per capita, it will take 50 years to complete the network, the report adds, noting in two decades of devolution Wales has spent less on active travel than the £321m to widen 8km of the ‘Heads of the Valleys road’.

NO MAGIC MONEY TREE NEEDED. For decades successive governments have ploughed ahead with roadbuilding, in the blind hope it will boost the economy and relieve congestion. This is despite decades of evidence to the contrary. Transport campaigner and author Christian Wolmar says there are more beneficial projects the money could be spent on. 

COUNCIL TRIALS PAVEMENT PARKING FINES. Blocked pavements are a blight on communities, particularly those with disabilities, or parents pushing buggies. The previous government’s pavement parking review hasn’t emerged, but Swindon Borough Council is pressing ahead with a trial ban. ‘Following on-going concerns from residents’, temporary orders will enable traffic wardens to issue tickets - something previously confined to police, says transport cabinet member Chris Watts.

EBIKE FIRE BANS ‘DISCRIMINATORY’. A rise in e-bike bans from homes and workplaces is causing concern among disabled cyclists, who might use an e-cycle as a mobility aid and essential transport. Wheels for Wellbeing calls a growing number of bans, including via insurance and tenancy clauses, ‘inappropriate, disproportionate and discriminatory responses to the low fire risk… posed by legal e-cycles’. 

OTHER HEADLINES

INDIAN SCHOOLGIRLS LEAD CYCLING REVOLUTION. Cycling can change people’s lives, and few more so than in rural areas. Indian schoolgirls in rural Bihar, which lack public transport or access to private mobility, are being given bicycles by the government to help them attend - and finish - school. In a gender-unequal society, the bicycle becomes a leveller, as well as a great liberator. 

WORLD BANK BACKS CYCLING. They cut emissions, they boost our health, they reduce the need for expensive roads, they give us social engagement and a sense of freedom. They can leap buildings in a single bound. OK maybe not that one, but cycles really are a miracle invention and, even 200 years after their invention, they are still changing lives and generally being brilliant. And the World Bank is just one major organisation saluting them this week. 

INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK: 

Mind the gender gap. ‘On average, males made 22 cycling trips and travelled 72 miles compared to females who made 9 cycling trips and travelled 23 miles.’ That’s less than a third of the miles, and 2.5 times fewer trips a year. While men 17-49 made the most cycling trips (28 per person), women 40-49 topped their gender group, at just 13 trips per person. Those with kids didn’t feel it was safe to cycle with their youngsters. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-travel-survey-2023/nts-2023-active-travel

ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:

Structural gender inequality. The situation where one gender, usually men, are allocated more power and resources than another, usually women. This is at play in transport, and cycle infrastructure, which favour men’s needs and preferences over women’s. It’s not deliberate but the fact it exists is underlined by the latest walking and cycling stats.

Until next time,

Adam Tranter

Founder, #BikeIsBest