Cycling

Cycling is a quick, cheap, healthy and environmentally friendly way to get around London.

Over 480,000 journeys are made by bicycle in the capital every day. Since 2000, cycling levels on London’s major roads have increased by 83 percent, and the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured has fallen by 31 percent. Increased cycling provides benefits through reduced congestion, reduced pollution and improved health.

In February 2008, the Mayor announced a new programme to build on these successes, aimed at achieving a growth in cycling of 400 percent by 2025. This would mean that five percent of all trips in London were made by bike. The three strands of the programme are:

Bike hire in central London, providing a new public transport mode for short business and visitor trips
Cycling corridors, offering commuters with high profile, clearly signed priority routes from inner to central London
Bike Zones, covering a radius of about 5km around London’s town centres, incorporating 20mph speed limits, cycle priority streets, greenways and a network of cycle-friendly routes to link schools, stations, residential areas and workplaces, supported by cycle training, parking and travel planning

More information about this programme is available in the Mayor’s press release, issued in February 2008.

What has been achieved to date?

The London Cycle Network is a network of signed routes for cyclists across the capital. Over 550km of the 900km network has been completed to date; final completion is due by the end of 2010. Transport for London (TfL) are also investing in an off-road network of routes through London’s parks, and along the capital's waterways
The London Freewheel, the first mass participation bike ride around the streets of London, was a huge success. 38,000 registrants took part in the event in September 2007
The third edition of the London Cycling Guides, a printed series of 14 free, localised guides covering Greater London, was issued in August 2007
A successful 2007 Tour de France helped raise the profile of cyclists and inspire a new generation to consider more sustainable forms of travel
The ‘Share the Road’ advertising, education and enforcement campaign was launched in September 2006 to encourage mutual respect between all road users
There has been increased investment in cycle training, with 16,000 school children, almost 3000 adults, and over 300 people with special needs, receiving cycle training through London’s boroughs in 2006/7
TfL has installed 10,000 cycle parking spaces at schools and colleges, 40,00 spaces on London’s streets, and a further 1,600 at stations across the capital
National Bike Week takes place annually in June, promoting a variety of cycling activities
The Cycling Centre of Excellence was set up in 2001 to guide the development of cycling initiatives in London