Cycle industry leaders convene while Parliament pauses for General Election

There’s not a lot happening in the way of new legislation and debate in Parliament as the clock runs down to the General Election (taking place during Eurobike – Wednesday 19th is the deadline for applying for postal votes).

While political parties have been looking upon the polls with horror, delight or a mixture of the two, certain cycling industry leaders have been meeting to discuss solutions that hopefully the next government will enact. While the regularly Parliamentary bike ride has been postponed due to the forthcoming election, the Cycle to Work Alliance held a Westminster roundtable this week with representatives from Bicycle Association, Wheels for Wellbeing, the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals, Bikeability and more.

The roundtable coincided with the 25th anniversary of the cycle to work scheme, which has helped over two million employees purchase a bike and itself is the subject of some current heated debate. The Alliance noted in its PR that numerous barriers still deter people from considering cycle commuting or utilising the Cycle to Work Scheme. These obstacles range from inadequate cycling infrastructure and rising bike theft to low confidence levels among adults and poor cycling proficiency.

There was cross-industry consensus to set out a blueprint for increasing cycle commuting, with emphasis on the need for industry collaboration with the incoming government to help frame the policy environment needed post General Election.

The group discussed:

• Infrastructure and Support: the main challenges deterring people from cycle commuting and the role that employers play in supporting employees who wish to cycle to and from work.
• Financial and Accessibility Issues: how the financial barriers can be addressed and whether the Cycle to Work Scheme can be expanded or modified to include more participants.
• Integration and Education: educational initiatives to encourage cycle commuting, how to combat the challenges of integrating with other modes of transport, and successful examples of other cities/countries to inspire UK policy.
• Policy and Advocacy: the legislative changes needed at the national level to support and encourage cycle commuting, and how the group can work together to better engage policymakers to prioritise cycling infrastructure and policies.

Chris Last, Chair of The Cycle to Work Alliance said on the day: “Today’s discussion outlined the need for greater collaboration between industry and Government if we are to fully dismantle the barriers to cycle commuting and make it accessible for all. Not only would a robust policy enable more people to move to active travel – benefiting both health and the environment – but it would also crucially be a huge boost for the bicycle market.”

In light of recent commitments from both the Conservative and Labour parties regarding active travel, this roundtable served as a platform for industry stakeholders to collaborate and contribute to the development of a manifesto paper, it said, which will be launched at a parliamentary drop-in later this year.