Transforming London into a cycling city

The Major of London’s flagship cycle scheme, Barclays Cycle Hire, is revolutionising the way that people who work in central London commute and travel during the working day, writes TfL's Chris Mather

Cycling in London is enjoying a renaissance after decades of the car being king of London’s streets. During the past ten years, the number of people cycling in the Capital has increased dramatically and there are now an estimated 500,000 cycle trips being made in London every day.
    
Since Transport for London (TfL) was created in 2000, our organisation’s record investment in cycling infrastructure, training, promotion and education has helped transform the Capital into a city that cycles. By providing measures like cycle safety training, free cycle maps and route planning, and investing in additional parking and routes, we’ve helped create a city where cycling is the preferred way of getting to and from work, and making leisure journeys, for thousands more people.

This summer has been a particularly exciting time for London’s cycling revolution with the launch of both Barclays Cycle Hire and the two pilot Barclays Cycle Superhighway routes – and both offer huge potential for businesses.  
     
Barclays Cycle Superhighways are a set of 12 radial routes – like spokes in a bicycle wheel – that have been created especially with cycle commuting in mind. The clearly marked cycle routes aim to make it safer and easier to commute by bike between outer and inner London on direct and continuous cycle routes. The first two routes, which run from Merton to the City (A24 and A3) and Barking to Tower Gateway (A13), were launched in July this year and have proved popular in their first few months.
     
TfL is also providing funding for the eight London boroughs benefitting from the first two pilot routes, and local businesses based within 1.5kms of the routes are being offered free support to encourage their staff to cycle to work. Together, the borough funding and business support measures are delivering around 5,000 cycle parking spaces, up to 17,000 hours of cycle training and 3,000 hours of cycle maintenance sessions.
    
Barclays Cycle Hire is also revolutionising the way that people who work in central London commute and travel during the working day, with an additional 19,000 or so cycle journeys a day in the Capital now being made on the distinctive blue bikes.
     
London’s brand new public transport system currently has 5,000 bicycles in circulation in central London, with 335 docking stations – where people can pick up or drop off the hire bikes – throughout the Zone 1 Travel area, and by the end of the year that will have increased to 6,000 bikes and 400 docking stations. With docking stations often just a few minutes walk away from where people work, and membership costing as little as 12p a day, it’s unsurprising that 80,000 people have already joined the scheme, or that they made half a million journeys between them in the six weeks following its launch.
    
The cycle hire scheme is opening up commuter cycling to people who weren’t previously able to do it, either because they live too far away from where they work or don’t own their own bicycle. The step-through bicycle frame, plastic covers for all cables, chains and wires, and upright riding position of the bikes mean they can be ridden by someone wearing a skirt or a business suit. This makes them easy for people to commute on or travel between meetings, without the need to leave the office dressed head to toe in lycra.

More people are cycling as a way of getting to and from work than they have done for decades, with the Mayor’s flagship Barclays Cycle Hire and Barclays Cycle Superhighways projects helping to open up two-wheeled transport to people who may not have thought of making the journey to work before. But how can this benefit your business? In the following simple ways:
•    A healthier, more productive workplace – walking and cycling will     improve the health and fitness of your employees. This may, in turn, improve productivity and reduce absenteeism.
•    Cost savings for your business – effectively managing business
    journeys will cut travel costs such as staff expenses, car park charges and fleet management. It will also save your business time.
•    Make you a more attractive employer – providing and         
    encouraging travel options will help you recruit and retain staff.
•    Reduce carbon emissions – enhance your environmental credentials by
    being part of the solution that will make a local and global difference.
•    More travel options for your business – by promoting greater travel choices, you’ll give employees, visitors and customers more ways of reaching you.
•    Be an employer of choice – by demonstrating your commitment to corporate social responsibility, you’ll build a better reputation with staff, key  stakeholders and your local community.

If your business is based in London, contact TfL to find out how we can help your workplace become more cycling friendly. E-mail cyclingworkplaces@tfl.gov.uk or call 0845 604 6597