Cycle Superhighways for London

In July 2010, two new cycle superhighways were set up as a cycling pilot scheme to get more people in London out of public transport and cars and onto bikes. These types of scheme fulfil three important government objectives – the cut down on carbon emissions and the use of fossil fuels, to reduce congestion in our capital city and to get people to take more exercise, so reducing chronic diseases due to inactivity and obesity.

Cycling as a mode of transport is personally endorsed by the new Prime Minister, David Cameron and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. The two cycle superhighways that have been launched will lead to many more all over the city, if they prove to be successful. The routes currently available run from the City of London to Merton, and from Tower Gateway to Barking but further routes would criss cross the capital, with extensive coverage to rival the tube and bus network.

Sponsorship Funding for Cycle Superhighways

Finding enough funding to promote cycling and to pay for the construction of dedicated cycling routes is always going to be a problem and this scheme uses sponsorship from Barclays to offset the set up costs. Barclays are also supporting a scheme to hire bikes along their route, so that even people who don’t own their own cycle can hire one for all or part of the route they want to travel.

Cycling and the Environment

The government of the UK faces some tough choices re its commitment to reducing carbon emissions and putting in place policies and systems that are less environmentally damaging. Recent speculation has suggested that we are not doing enough to meet our targets on cutting emissions and may face a hefty fine over the next few years. As well as introducing cycle routes into London to reduce the environmental impact of commuting and travel within the city, London transport has also announced that all buses newly introduced into the bus system after 2012 will be hybrid powered, with 30% of their running power derived from electricity and the rest from diesel.

As the cycle scheme is being piloted, a few hybrid buses like this have already been tried out and a total of 56 buses with hybrid technology are now available on a dozen different bus routes in London.

Cycling and Health

With NHS costs increasing all the time, and a heavy deficit to claw back as a result of the recession and years of borrowing, the government is also keen to reduce its health bills over the next 30 years. One of the major causes of chronic illness in middle age – such as heart disease, diabetes, strokes and immobility – is due to poor lifestyle. People who eat high fat junk food and do no exercise are liable to be overweight and so poorly nourished that they age prematurely and need expensive medical care.

As well as encouraging exercise for its own sake, it makes sense to stimulate schemes that incorporate exercise as part of a useful activity that also saves transport costs, both for the system and for the individual.

The Future of the Cycle Superhighways

The plans for the scheme are ambitious; the two pilot schemes just launched will be joined by a further 10 routes that should be fully operational by the end of 2015. By 2025, London Transport has pledged to increase the number of people who use cycling as their main type of transport by 4000 per cent by 2025 compared to the baseline figures for people cycling in the year 2000.

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