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A cycle ride by MPs and Peers to the Palace of Westminster will take place on
Tuesday 17th July, when the recently-appointed Minister for Transport John Spellar MP
is expected to outline what the new government intends to do to encourage more cycling.
All-Party Parliamentary Cycling Group (APPCG) members and other MPs and Peers will
meet at 8am in Eland House (the Department for Transport, Local Government and the
Regions’ offices in Bressenden Place, Victoria, London SW1), where APPCG chair Jane
Griffiths MP will call on the Minister to "do more to ensure that the many people who cycle, and those who wish to, can do so safely."
This plea comes at a time when the National Cycling Strategy target to double cycle usage
by 2002 (from the 1996 level) looks unlikely to be met. Cycle use has to quadruple by 2012 if the Strategy is to succeed.
Jane Griffiths said: "Cycling has a key part to play in the development of a sustainable transport policy and is good for the health of people who do it."
More than 50 cyclists will cover the two-mile ride following breakfast at the DTLR office.
Last year’s Parliamentary Bike Ride during the Millennium Festival of Cycling attracted 55
MPs and Peers plus six Ministers. This year’s ride had to be postponed from its traditional National Bike to Work Day slot due to the election resulting in the state opening of parliament on 20th June.
Members of the All-Party Parliamentary Cycling Group work to raise the profile of cycling within both government houses, to stimulate the provision of improved facilities and highway infrastructure for cyclists, and to promote the wider benefits of cycling
to fellow MPs and Peers.
The APPCG – one of the largest all-party campaigning groups – had 80 members before the
dissolution of the previous parliament. The new group already has 30 members with more
MPs joining each week.
