BREXIT or Bike-it? asks Cycling UK

With the general election next week, Cycling UK are calling on cyclists to ask their local MP to press Government for the £billions needed to fund active travel to help stave off climate change and pollution.

They know full well that we are all consumed by a terrible angst with the long running Brexit farce with no end.

But taking the long view,  whatever becomes of Brexit, the government must still be persuaded to address climate change and pollution before the Thames floods  Parliament and one way of doing so is by  pumping £billions into making the roads safer for cycling. 

I'll believe it when I see it, says Bingers

Well, I think we know the present government’s response to that one! Nevertheless, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

In fact Labour’s election manifesto promises massive investment, the Liberals offer is pretty good while the Conservative’s budget for cycling remains typically poor.

The indefatigable Paul Tuohy, Chief Executive of Cycling UK, says whatever your position on Brexit, lobby your MP to press for the sustained government investment needed.

There was nothing in the last Budget for this.

Currently, about 2 per cent of the transport budget goes to cycling. It needs to be at least 5 per cent.

So, do as Paul asks, write to your MP about this. (Or email if you  no longer possess pen and paper)

You never know, one day the government may fulfil their own modest target to double cycle use which at present ain’t going to happen because their own active travel policy is all but inactive.

What the three main political parties promise to spend on cycling in their election manifesto 

The Guardian Bike Blog has it all in greater detail. You can read an edited version here

courtesy of The Guardian News and Media.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2019/dec/01/which-partys-general-election-pledges-are-best-for-cyclists

From the Guardian Bike Blog…

The Walking and Cycling Alliance wants £17 per person per year to be spent on active travel, rising to £34 per person by 2025. Spending is currently £7 per person annually.

Conservative

Main pledges: A £350m cycling infrastructure fund over five years (£70m a year), and “tough new design standards, which must be followed to receive any money”; a £2bn pothole fund; Bikeability training for every child; pilots of low-traffic “healthy neighbourhoods” to reduce rat running on residential streets, with increased provision “for separated bike lanes on main roads”; trials incentivising GPs to prescribe bicycles or bicycle hire to patients. There is mention of a “long-term cycling programme and budget like the roads programme and budget, though of course smaller”, though it is unclear if that refers to the £350m or something longer-term.

Funding pledge on cycling: £70m per year, each year of the new parliament; total £350m.

Per head per year: £1.18 – so less than the current spend.

However, £350m over five years is tiny in transport terms and pales in comparison to what other parties are offering. Manchester alone needs £1.4bn for its city-wide cycling and walking programme.



Labour

Main pledges: £50 per head per year on cycling by the end of the term, amounting to £7.2bn a year. Deliver 5,000km (3,100 miles) of cycleways within the first term; provide safe cycling and walking routes to 10,000 primary schools; £200 grants for e-bike purchase and support for an “e-bike valley” industrial cluster. Bring back Cycling (and now also Walking) England, axed in the bonfire of the quangos, to deliver councils’ plans. Doubling of Bikeability funding to cover all primary school children, plus secondary school children, and adults. Fully fund the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy which sets targets to double cycling by adults and children by 2025. Cycling and bicycles on prescription; a “cycling and walking social investment fund” to support active travel in “left-behind areas”.

Summary: £8.2bn a year is a huge amount of money for cycling. This programme, if successfully implemented, would be transformative – opening up cycling as a genuine transport option up and down the country. Funds would come from vehicle excise duty, says Labour – i.e. the polluter pays. The goal of the plans is to cut congestion and air pollution, which is responsible for at least 40,000 deaths a year, boost health and improve towns and cities.

Liberal Democrat

Main pledges: Spending 10% of the transport budget on cycling by the end of a five-year parliament. More devolution and power to councils to make decisions; using the planning process to reduce car dependency in new developments. “A national strategy to promote cycling and walking, including the creation of dedicated safe cycling lanes”; placing a far higher priority on encouraging walking and cycling; reducing car use; integration of rail, bus and cycle routes.

Funding pledge on cycling: 10% of the transport budget by the end of a five-year parliament.

Summary: Light on detail, though a commitment of 10% of the transport budget is an ambitious target.