CTC speeds into action

The Tories fuel tax saving could be better spent saving lives, says Cath Harris, a CTC press officer.

Using the same speedy tactics of the Labour Partys rapid rebuttal unit from the last election, the CTC yesterday brilliantly rushed out a response to Portillos 3p off a litre of petrol announcement.

This is the sort of thing which can be picked up by the nationals and used in a brief paragraph to highlight non-parliamentary opposition to Portillos pledge.

Well done to the CTC. Keep up the good work!

Heres the release:

September 20 2000

How £1.1bn could boost UK cycling

The Conservative Partys projected £1.1bn saving

on fuel tax should instead be spent on saving

lives, says CTC, the UKs national cycling

organisation.

CTC says the money should be used to improve

safety on roads, subsidise public transport and

provide cycle training for all children and adults

who want to ride.

It would cost £700m to build a cycle network in

one hundred towns per year, to include cycle

lanes, 20mph zones around every school and traffic

calming measures on residential streets.

A further £200m per year would enable train

operators to provide ten bike spaces on each

train, enabling them to fulfil the governments

demand for more integrated transport.

The remaining £200m would cover the £10 cost of

training one person to cycle safely on roads.

Within a year 20 million people could become

confident and proficient cyclists.

CTC wants a commitment to reducing traffic growth,

which is bad for our health, bad for the

environment and costly to industry. Cycling

reduces congestion, pollution and damage to road

surfaces. It improves fitness, reduces public

health costs and makes people more productive at

work.

Ends

For more information contact CTC Media Officer

Cath Harris on 01483 418284 / 01483 853639 or

email cath.harris@ctc.org.uk