BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
The number of Londoners getting out of their cars and using bicycles, public transport and walking has increased by seven per cent, according to Transport for London’s third annual Travel in London report.
The shift has averted a rise of one million car driver trips in the capital in 2009, according to TfL.
Half a million journeys a day were made by bicycle in London in 2009, up five per cent from 2008. Cyclists on London’s Road Network (TLRN) increased 117 per cent between 2000/01 and 2009/10.
Two million journeys have been made by Barclays Cycle Hire since its July launch. According to the survey, two-thirds of trips made by Cycle Hire would previously have been made by ‘mechanised mode’. Early reports indicate that there has been an increase of 24 per cent in average cycle flows on the first of the Barclays Cycle Superhighways.
"Over the last twelve months we have launched the hugely successful Barclays Cycle Hire and first two Barclays Cycle Superhighways,” enthused the Mayor of London’s transport advisor Kulveer Ranger.
“We have opened the extended East London Line, provided extra carriages on the DLR and seen London’s first ever air-conditioned trains. This report proves the Mayor’s policies have continued to encourage Londoners out of their cars and onto public transport or two wheels.
“But the Mayor is clear that there is still much more we can do… We live in a city that continues to grow and it is crucial we make the improvements necessary for ever greater numbers of Londoners to get around the capital.”
London’s Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy added: “The continuing growth in demand for public transport reinforces the need for investment in London’s transport networks. Working with the Mayor and London businesses, we successfully campaigned to secure vital investment to take forward the upgrade of the Tube, the construction of Crossrail and maintain frontline services on the extensive bus network and expand London’s popular Barclays Cycle Hire.”
