Cycling faces uphill struggle in Britain
New research has shown that despite Government initiatives in five towns - Darlington, Lancaster, Aylesbury, Exeter and Brighton, the expected cycling revolution has yet to materialise.
The national picture is in fact very mixed. The overall number of cycle trips has actually fallen from an average of 17 trips per person in 2000 to just 16 trips in 2006.
However, an astonishing rise of 91% has been recorded in the amount of cycling since 2000 in the capital. The biggest increase was recorded following the terrorist attacks in London in 2005. The congestion charge has also been used to explain why there in 2007 were nearly 50,000 bikes on London's roads every day.
The Prime minister Gordon Brown, keen to demonstrate the Governments support for green initiatives, reported that in Darlington journeys to school by bike had quadrupled since a Government backed scheme was introduced.
So are London catching up with the continent? Not really. With bikes making up just 2% of total journeys in London compared with 20% in Amsterdam and Copenhagen, there is still some way to go before the Government's cycling revolution is achieved.
12th May 2008
