According to Transport for London (TfL) figures from a new survey cyclists make up an incredible 24 per cent of vehicles in the British capital, London’s morning rush hour.
The arresting statistic formed from a mass census of cyclists in London, apparently the biggest of its kind to date, is adding weight to campaigners’ and cycling proponents’ arguments that the bicycle is no longer the transport of the minority.
They argue, according to British newspaper The Guardian, the need to take the bicycle seriously as a means of mass transport.
The Guardian reports the numbers on some major routes are perhaps not surprising to anyone who has squashed in with scores of cyclists at the traffic lights in London’s morning rush hour, though they do make previous cycling targets look shamefully unambitious.
At Theobalds Road near Holborn, bikes were 64 per cent of all vehicles heading west.
At the same time Elephant and Castle, one of London’s most notoriously frightening roundabouts for cyclists, which London Lord Mayor Boris Johnson once said was “fine” for cyclist, saw 903 cyclists an hour head north to the city centre between 7am and 9am.
The Guardian reports unsurprisingly, the bridges score well; they are the only way for cyclists to cross the river.
London Bridge, for example, averaged 660 bikes an hour over the whole day (6am to 8pm), or 47 per cent of vehicles.
In the Netherlands capital, Amsterdam, meanwhile, 60 per cent of inner city traffic is bikes.
The Guardian reports at the same time spending on cycling in London is still a tiny portion of the transport budget.
London’s new cycling commissioner, Andrew Gilligan, told The Guardian: “Cycling is clearly a mass mode of transport in central London and until now it hasn’t been treated as such.
“Nearly all provision for cycling is based on the presumption that hardly anyone cycles, that you can make do with shoving cyclists to the side of the road and that just clearly is wrong.
The Guardian reports since Mayor Johnson’s cycling vision was launched in March, there have been fears that the proposed £913m funding for cycling will suffer at the hands of a British government spending review.
Mr Gilligan remains optimistic, however, and says although the money is a lot more than previously spent on cycling, it’s not a lot compared to TfL’s overall budget.
As Sir Peter Hendy, TfL’s transport commissioner, noted at the cycling vision’s launch, the country gets more for its money from cycling infrastructure than for other mass transport systems.
He wants to make cycling “one of his highest priorities”.
As campaigners point out, urban cycling is still dominated by a minority.
The next goal is surely to get everyone else on a bike.
The London Cycling Campaign’s chief executive, Dr Ashok Sinha, said: “The latest cycling figures from TfL simply underline that, given the right circumstances, a large proportion of London’s population would opt to cycle to work.
“The ultimate goal must be to enable people of all ages and backgrounds to feel safe enough to cycle for everyday local journeys, not just commuters.
“The good news is that Boris Johnson gets this and understands that investing in cycling saves money in the long run.
“That’s why he must resolutely defend his impressive new cycling program from impending Treasury cuts,” he added.
