How can we get more people on bikes, MPs ask

Thanks to a £10,000 grant from News International, parent company of The Times, a cross-party inquiry made up of ten MPs will examine how to get more Brits to get on bikes, and make cycling safer for all.

MPs will quiz experts during two hearings, one in the autumn and one early next year. The need for "joined-up government" will be one of the issues examined, linking together departments such as the Treasury, the Department for Transport, the Department of Health and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The initiative is being led by the MPs Ian Austin and Julian Huppert, co-chairs of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group. 

Dr Huppert, MP for Cambridge, said: “This work is crucially important if we are to seriously promote cycling as a safe, viable means of transport and give it the investment it needs and which has been seriously lacking in the past.”

Ian Austin said:

"The Times Campaign has given cycling safety a higher priority than ever before and the stunning success by British cyclists this summer has got more people interested in cycling. We want to use this inquiry to get all the political parties signed up to an action plan to create a better environment for cycling, make cycling safer and to get more people on their bikes."

The new road safety minister Stephen Hammond said: “If there are some new, innovative ideas, we will look very closely at what we can do to ensure they become best practice, or indeed policy, if necessary.”

The secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group is paid for by the UK Cycling Alliance, an informal group of non-government and membership organisations working in and on behalf of cycling. The alliance works in collaboration to influence policy and direction at all levels of government, both at Westminster and in Whitehall.

The members of the UK Cycling Alliance – experts from which will give evidence to the MP’s inquiry on cycle safety – are the Bicycle Association. Association of Cycle Traders, British Cycling, CTC, Cycle Nation, Sustrans and the London Cycle Campaign.