The latest version of the National Child Development Study: Partnership Histories (1974-2013) has been released at the UK Data Service.
Two in three journeys in London are being made by foot, cycle or public transport
As urban transport systems are embracing smart tech, aren’t we overlooking the potential of simpler, more familiar solutions to move people around? Dr Andy Cope reflects on this year’s Autonomy and Urban Mobility Summit in Paris.
There are moments of radical change, new technology arrives and suddenly the status quo crumbles. Transport and the way we travel is experiencing just such a moment. We need to make sure this future works for everyone, and creates the healthy streets and city we so desperately need.
Every day we read about progress in electrification, autonomous vehicles, and mobility as a service (MaaS). Unmanned ‘delivery bots’ roam our city streets, developers talk about advances with drone deliveries and even the movement of people by drone, and Virgin has just invested in ‘hyperloop’ technology – a mobility solution that uses electric propulsion and magnetic levitation through a low-pressure tube. This is all happening.
Enormously exciting ideas are taking shape that can change transport forever. But there are also challenges.
There is strong evidence of inequality stemming from the cost of and access to transport options. The current crop of future transport solutions will be expensive at first, and have the potential to create inequalities in the way people are able to travel. Some brave observers are confidently predicting the death of public transport, and that MaaS will fill the space. It is hard to comprehend such a scenario in the context of London, and even harder to understand how we can design inclusivity in to it.
Then there are huge questions around liabilities and responsibilities. Around the world city authorities are nervous. New mobility ‘solutions’ are turning up on their streets, and authorities don’t know how to respond. What governance arrangements are needed; what infrastructure requirements are there; what are the liability implications?
We can reasonably anticipate that conflicts will arise between the interests of the technology promoters, those interested to defray the responsibility and costs of maintenance of public space, together with those technologically-savvy parts of society, and on the other hand, city authorities that are concerned to retain ownership of their space, and those parts of community and society that are more concerned with sharing space.
There are also huge challenges around congestion, air quality, and public health. Fleet electrification and autonomous vehicles are still metal boxes and the developing approach of MaaS is dependent upon its constituent parts. Throw in energy supply and demand dynamics, regulation, resilience and land ownership and we can see the risk of a chaotic landscape emerging.
So, the extent to which these new technologies actually deal with the existing and future challenges of personal mobility and accessibility remain unclear.
But, of course, we do have transport solutions that can tackle congestion, air quality, public health and enhance social inclusion - walking and cycling. London is beginning to feel the benefit of a shift to these modes, with two in three journeys being made by foot, cycle or public transport.
We welcome innovation in transport but are not seduced by it. This is why Sustrans fully supports the Mayor’s plans to make walking and cycling the primary means of access in the city and will continue to act as a critical friend to the technological advances that are transforming the future of transport.
Segregated cycle lanes make people feel safe on a bike and more likely to cycle, leading to better public health
This article was first published online by The Sunday Times on 26 November 2017.
Scotland’s air quality crisis cannot be solved by waiting for new technology to improve public health.
The government’s planned Low Emission Zones (LEZs) need to look not just at the type of vehicle in cities, but at how they can reduce the number of cars congesting cities and polluting our air.
Today, the majority of journeys in Scotland are made by car (67%) and, in areas where pollution exceeds legal limits, 80% of harmful nitrous oxide gas comes from transport.
Many people feel they have no choice but to travel by car for their every day journeys because of a lack of walking and cycling routes or because there isn’t any affordable public transport.
Even in urban areas where there are typically better public transport links, 41% of us still drive to work in Glasgow, and 44.5% in Edinburgh.
This sheer weight of traffic on our roads is a major cause of air pollution. Congested space in cities leads cars, buses, vans and good vehicles to sit in traffic, constantly polluting the air and costing money in wasted time and fuel.
Yet, government at every level has avoided action to address this. Instead, it has waited for a technological solution in order to avoid any difficult decisions. But is the technological solution working?
According to the International Council of Clean Transportation, engine efficiency in real world conditions has only improved 2% in the last five years. Electric or low carbon vehicles offer an end to exhaust emissions, but they are, at best, a partial fix for air pollution.
Electric vehicles do not take away the problem that 45% of harmful particulate matter is released by brakes and tyres, which the World Health Organisation say there is no safe level of exposure to.
In fact, particulate emission from this source is likely to worsen, due to the extra weight of electric vehicle batteries. There is the risk that, like diesel cars before, we are being sold a new technology that won’t solve the problem – or the obesity and physical inactivity crisis, which is estimated to cost Scotland as much as £4.6 billion each year.
Government needs to roll-out LEZs in a way that lowers the total number of vehicles in urban areas, rather than just focussing on the type of vehicle.
Cutting vehicle access to city centres creates a need for alternatives modes of transport, and the space created on our streets should be given to people on foot, to public space, and especially to segregated cycle lanes.
A recent survey of Edinburgh residents found 4 out of 5 wanted more space for segregated cycling, even at the expense of space for cars. Segregated cycle lanes make people feel safe on a bike and more likely to cycle, leading to better public health.
Reducing the dominance of cars won’t just create space for walking and cycling. Decreasing congestion would allow clean buses to complete journeys more quickly, and there are improvements to emissions for large vehicles not having to stop and start repeatedly in traffic.
The truth is that the health problems caused by cars and physical inactivity are widely known and accepted, but difficult conversations around reducing car access are still to begin. There are signs of the bravery and leadership necessary to deliver the towns and cities that people want, but action on air pollution cannot wait.
Teenagers who read in their spare time know 26 per cent more words than those who never read, according to researchers at the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS).
We started our Raising The Standards Day four years ago
The year ahead promises to be incredibly exciting for delivering high quality cycling and walking infrastructure in Scotland.
Sustrans recognises the importance of bringing partners together from across the country to share learning and best practice which is why, four years ago, we started our Raising The Standards Day.
Packed with interactive workshops, presentations and cycle study tours, the day encourages partners and stakeholders who benefit from funding through our Community Links Programme, to look at infrastructure from all user perspectives.
In light of the Scottish Government’s recent commitment to double the budget for active travel, we have never had a better opportunity to raise the standards and ambition across Community Links and Community Links PLUS programmes.
This increase in funding is an opportunity to demonstrate what we can do for our communities when we design places and spaces that work for people, and not just vehicles.
There will be a lot of eyes on our sector over the next three years, and we want to give them something positive to talk about.
Working with our partners, it is essential that we deliver well planned projects that link communities to infrastructure through exemplary community engagement, and bring together strategic partnerships across sectors and organisations to maximise our reach and impact.
Many of the projects that we have already delivered in partnership through our infrastructure programmes, have and continue to influence key decision makers across Scotland.
This was brought home to me when chairing the 2017 Community Links PLUS panel. Roy Brannen, Chief Executive of Transport Scotland, said he was blown away by the wealth of information, the quality, and the amount of hard work that had gone into the five proposals.
As time will demonstrate all five proposals are obviously worth funding, but I’m also sure they had a large part to play in influencing the government to double the budget for active travel.
Sustrans’ work is not only making a difference at these lofty levels of influence. Crucially we’re also making a difference to peoples’ lives.
For example you only need to look at the River Lossie Cycle Path in Moray, which is bringing out the locals’ inner child and breathing life into a long forgotten mode of active travel. Or the resident of Milngavie who bought a bike after the construction of the Bear’s Way. Or the Doctor in Dalbeattie who started prescribing walking and cycling after we built a shared use path.
Our work enables healthier lifestyles and we must continue to do so, ensuring that we’re reaching the communities that need it the most.
Our recent ‘Transport Poverty in Scotland’ report highlighted that more than one million people in this country are at risk of transport poverty - where a lack of affordable and accessible transport is a barrier to accessing essential services and work.
We can’t take our eye off the ball, and we must focus on delivering high quality projects that will lead to an ‘active nation’.
And, working together with partners and the Scottish Government, we will continue to deliver ambitious, high quality projects that will help enable more people to walk and cycle for more of the journeys they make every day.
More than 5,000 people a day use the protected Oxford Road cycleway in Greater Manchester
Bike Life 2017 showed strong support for cycling by residents in the seven UK participating cities. Almost four in five residents support building more protected cycle lanes, on our streets, even when this could mean less space for other vehicles. And 64% of residents said they would find these routes very useful to help them start cycling or cycle more.
With such strong demand from the public, what does the evidence say about protected bike lanes?
Bike Life showed in 2015 and 2017 that safety continues to be the single largest barrier to more people using bicycles for everyday journeys.
Research from Canada compared 14 different types of routes used by people cycling in cities. The routes ranged from major streets with no infrastructure present, to painted bike lanes and on-street protected cycle tracks. They found the infrastructure provided made a big difference in terms of safety. Protected bike lanes – with actual barriers separating people riding bikes from other traffic – reduced the risk of injury by 90%[1]. This is not the only study of this type and the wider evidence base strongly suggests protection has a clear and significant benefit for safety.
Perception of safety was also higher in protected bike lanes. According to People for Bikes, 96% of people riding in protected bike lanes in America felt safer on the street because of the lanes[2]. Results from Bike Life support this – for example more people would find protected routes very useful to start cycling or cycle more, than other types of more common cycle infrastructure.
By actually creating separation between bicycles and cars, not only do injuries reduce, but more people feel empowered to cycle. This improves accessibility for everyone, especially less confident individuals unlikely to currently ride a bike.
Across the seven Bike Life cities, the single longest protected route built in the last two years was the Oxford/Wilmslow Road cycleway in Greater Manchester. This is a busy 7km artery route into central Manchester passing through the University of Manchester campus. It was opened in two stages – initially Wilmslow Road, and more recently the full route including Oxford Road closest to the city centre.
The average number of daily cycle journeys recorded along the cycleway rose by 86% (from 960 in March 2015 to 1,791 in March 2017) following completion of the Wilmslow Road stretch[3]. Subsequently, following the opening of the Oxford Road cycleway, the number of riders using the route now exceeds 5,000 a day on a regular basis, with a high of 5,803 recorded on 3rd October[4].
A similar result was seen in central London. After the first five months of opening the East-West and North-South Cycle Superhighways the number of people on bikes using them increased by over 50%[5]. This equates to 8,400 using Blackfriars Bridge and 7,000 using Victoria Embankment each day in the morning and evening peaks.
Whilst protected bike routes on streets are increasing in the UK, currently they are still very much in their infancy, especially compared to road space for cars. In six of our cities where data is available, only 19 miles of protected bike lanes on roads physically separated from traffic and pedestrians exist. This equates to 0.2% of the total miles of roads in the same six cities (9,351 miles in total).
Progress has been slow partially as a result of the need to reallocate road space from cars to bicycles. This is seen by decision makers as a politically unpopular move likely to lead to public outcry and greater congestion. Yet Bike Life suggests residents are more in favour of change than often is thought to be the case. So, does reallocating space actually hinder keeping our cities moving?
As our cities continue to grow we need to focus on making our streets as efficient as possible at moving people, rather than cars.
In London at peak times, the new East-West and North-South Cycle Superhighways occupy only 30% of the road space and yet move an average of 46% of people along the route at key congested locations[6]. Overall, looking at all modes of transport two weeks after opening, these superhighway corridors were moving 5% more people per hour than they could without cycle lanes. This suggests reallocation of road space to cycle lanes is making these routes more efficient.
Another good example is Dronning Louises Bridge, one of the busiest routes into central Copenhagen. Between 2009 and 2013 space for cars was reduced to increase the width of existing protected cycle lanes, alongside improvements to the pedestrian space and bus conditions.
This led to an increase from 81,000 to 97,000 people using the bridge each day[7]. Cycle use rose by 60%, walking by 165% and bus use by 5%. There was also an increase of people visiting the bridge to socialise and tourists enjoying the space. This example shows reallocating space for walking and cycling can not only improve the efficiency of streets, but also improve the liveability and attractiveness of streets.
Figure: Growth in number of persons per transport mode on Dronning Louises Bridge from 2008- 2016. Source: Copenhagen Bike Account, 2016
The evidence above suggests protected cycle routes along our city roads have significant potential to improve safety for people on bikes and dramatically increase the number of people cycling. Reallocating space to make room for this infrastructure can also make our streets more efficient at moving people, whilst also creating more liveable and attractive streets.
In the Bike Life cities, 69% of residents think their city would be a better place to live and work if more people cycled. Greater cycling therefore has the potential to make cities better places. And to unlock the potential of cycling there is arguably no better opportunity than the creation of a network of safe and attractive protected bike routes.
References
[1] Teschke et al, 2012. Route Infrastructure and the Risk of Injuries to Bicyclists: A Case-Crossover Study. The American Journal of Public Health.
[2] Portland State University, 2014. Lessons from the Green Lanes: Evaluating Protected Bike Lanes in the U.S.
[3] TfGM, 2017. personal communication
[4] TfGM, 2017. Cycle counters clock up major milestone
[5] TfL, 2016. Update on the implementation of the Quietways and Cycle Superhighways programmes
[6] TfL, 2016. Update on the implementation of the Quietways and Cycle Superhighways programmes
[7] Bike Account Copenhagen, 2016
Protected roadside cycle lane, St. Leonards Street, Edinburgh
Protected roadside cycle lane, Baldwin Street, Bristol
Protected roadside cycle lane, Walmslow/Oxford Road, Greater Manchester
Protected roadside cycle lane, John Dobson Street, Newcastle
Protected roadside cycle lane, Alfred Street, Belfast
Whilst Bike Life 2017 covers a wealth of information, one of the most revealing statistics in this year’s reports is the level of public support for more protected bike routes on our streets.
In the seven cities (Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Greater Manchester, Newcastle) almost four fifths of residents (78%) support building more protected cycle lanes on roads, even when this could mean less space for other vehicles.
In addition, 64% of residents said they would cycle more if these routes were created.
Protected bike routes consist of segregated space on streets dedicated to bikes and protected by kerbs, bollards or at a raised height from the carriageway. This means road traffic doesn’t enter this space, thus making cycling safer, and importantly ensuring people on bikes feel safer. This space is also clearly separated from the pavement, thereby reducing conflict with pedestrians on our busy city streets.
In Bike Life 2017 we asked 7,700 residents what provision they would find very useful to start cycling or cycle more. This is what they told us:
Unsurprisingly, there was low support for more bus lanes or painted lanes. Sharing a bus lane or the carriageway with any vehicle, especially buses and HGVs is a scary proposition for most people. There is also low levels of support for shared pavements. In a busy city environment, sharing a pavement is less dangerous but still frustrating, and can cause conflict with other users of the space.
What the public appear to really want is on-road protected routes and traffic free routes away from roads. Traffic free routes exist in most of our cities, for example old railway lines in Bristol and Edinburgh. The problem, however, is that they only exist in certain locations, do not always go where you want to go, or are not designed for large numbers of bikes, such as narrow canal paths.
This leaves only one clear option in cities and urban areas - reallocating road space to create more on-road protected cycle routes in cities.
Almost all cities in Europe that have a high proportion of people cycling also have a network of on-road protected bike routes. Space protected from vehicles also helps to normalise cycling – i.e. people from all demographics and levels of confidence are able to use bikes to get around.
If we want more people to cycle, we need to provide safe and direct routes for the journeys they make every day. Providing cycling space alongside existing road networks ensures the cycle network takes people where they want to go by bike. This is a universally applicable principle - all streets should be bike streets. At the very least any main road with high levels of vehicle use, and/or higher vehicle speeds should include a protected bicycle lane.
The good news is that on-road segregation does exist in the UK, the most famous being London’s Superhighways, and we are building more and more of it. In the last two years, in the seven Bike Life cities we have seen on-road segregation added in Greater Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast, Newcastle and Bristol with plans in the pipeline in Cardiff and Birmingham. However, on-road protected bike lanes are still very much in their infancy in the UK, especially compared to road space for cars.
Currently, in six of our cities where data is available, only 19 miles of protected bike lanes on roads physically separated from traffic and pedestrians exist [1]. This equates to 0.2% of the total miles of roads in the same six cities (9,351 miles in total).
To make a comparison, in Copenhagen there is approximately 230 miles of cycle lanes physically separated from traffic and pedestrians along roads. This sounds like a lot, however, in reality it only takes up 7% of Copenhagen’s total street space. This has led to 41% of journeys in the city to work or education being made by bike. And if you just count Copenhagener’s journeys within the city – 62% to work and education are now made by bicycle [2].
When research suggests bicycles are up to five times more efficient than cars [3], reallocating 7% of our urban road space to bicycles makes sense.
And if you add in the benefits for our health, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and the local economy from more people on bikes, people in the future will wonder what took us so long to transform our cities.
Bike Life found four-fifths of residents support building more protected routes for bikes, even when it could mean less space for road traffic. So what are we waiting for?
References
[1] These figures exclude Birmingham where data is not collected
[2] All figures from Copenhagen Bike Account 2016
[3] For example: Litman, 2017. Evaluating Transportation Land Use Impacts
I’ve been riding a bicycle since I was a little girl. I’ve never done any competitive cycling or anything similar – it t has just been a way to get around town, go to work, and have fun. When I became pregnant with my son seven years ago, I continued riding my bicycle until I couldn’t get it and my massive belly through the door of the Victorian terrace I live in.
Once he was born, it would be almost two years before I felt confident enough to put him on the back of my bike. When I did, it was so much easier than I thought. Both of us enjoyed it and I immediately regretted not having done it sooner.
Speaking to my friends who were new mums, stopping cycling seemed to be a typical part of new parenthood, so I thought it would be good to nudge those friends along and get them on bikes with the little ones, too. I founded a Kidical Mass group in 2014 with Wellspring Healthy Living Centre and started leading free family bike rides around Bristol.
Since then, it has grown and we’ve led about 75 rides with over 250 participants. In addition to the free family bike rides, we run refresher sessions so that women could get confident cycling with their infant or toddler on the bike.
We had a fair bit of interest from the very beginning, which was great, but I noticed that there weren’t very many women from Black Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups signing up for our rides. I realised that many women from these groups didn’t know how to cycle before they had kids, so I trained to be a cycle instructor and became a local health champion.
Learning that people in some wards of Bristol have a much shorter life expectancy than others, and that children in my ward, for example, were more likely to be obese were stark and upsetting inequalities. Helping women and children find a way to be physically active seemed like a small way I could make a change. Cycling is an easy way to reach different parts of Bristol, including some lovely bits of green space. We know that spending time in nature is also really important for mental health, but in Bristol working out how to get there can be a challenge.
A few months of the year I work part-time as a cycling instructor for inner-city women at Easton Community Centre. We’ve had dozens of BAME women of all ages and abilities learn to cycle. There, I had the eye-opening experience of teaching disabled women to ride a bike. It became obvious we need infrastructure that suits adapted bikes, as currently it too often fails when we can’t get through a gate or down a path due to the slightly wider and longer dimensions of inclusive cycles.
Women that I have taught often say that learning to ride a bicycle has given them a sense of freedom and independence. It feels like there are more women on bicycles in Bristol generally, and I’m definitely seeing more BAME women on bicycles, which makes me happy.
The data from Bristol Bike Life confirms an impressive increase from 31% of women cycling in 2015 to 40% in 2017, the highest off all the cities participated in Bike Life. But we know that despite this success, many people in Bristol do not cycle and there is so much potential to get people out of their cars into delightful, often quicker, journeys on cycles. Most (72%) Bristolians surveyed said that more money should be spent on cycling, and 65% said that protected roadside lanes would make them cycle more.
Some women I taught have progressed from the cycle training sessions to feeling confident enough to come along on Kidical Mass rides with their kids. Cycling with children on normal roads without a segregated lane can be scary for parents and kids. We often use traffic (car)-free routes for our family bike rides. Making improvements to cycling infrastructure in Bristol would make cycling safer and more appealing for most people. The Bike Life survey shows that out of the 1,100 Bristolians surveyed, 77% would support building more roadside protected lanes, even when this meant less space for other road traffic.
Cycling is for everyone, and even though we are seeing more women cycling in Bristol, and more than the other Bike Life cities, we still have a long way to go for cycling to be an easy choice for everyone. Bristol urgently needs better infrastructure to make it simpler and safer for all types of people on cycles, whether they are passengers in a cargo bike, parents with panniers full of groceries, or those on specially adapted tricycles.
6% of residents usually travel to and from work by bicycle
69% say their city would be a better place to live and work if more people cycled
53% would like to start riding a bike or could ride their bike more
64% of people would find protected roadside cycle lanes very useful to help them cycle more
up to 11,564 cars are taken off our roads by bicycles each day, equal to a 333-mile tailback
Cycling levels in the UK peaked in 1949, when 15 billion miles were travelled by bike, equivalent to 37% of all traffic.
People riding bikes played a crucial role in our past and will play an important role in our future.
Cycling will shape how we get about in our towns and cities. It’s good for our health, for air quality, for the local economy, and for making our streets more liveable.
Critically, bikes are up to five times more efficient at moving people than cars. Cities are space limited, populations are increasing and too many cars cause traffic jams. Bikes will rise again.
Bike Life 2017 shows people living in seven major UK cities understand this. Three times as many people would invest in more space for walking, cycling or public transport to keep their city moving than invest in more space for cars.
Furthermore, over two-thirds of residents we talked to, think more cycling would make their city a better place to live and work.
Bike Life in 2017 shows progress is being made.
Since 2015 we have witnessed new and better cycle infrastructure schemes, an increasing coverage of areas with 20 mph speed limits and a range of supporting programmes to get people on their bikes. This has led to over 123 million trips taking place across our seven cities in the past year producing considerable economic, health and environmental benefits for everyone detailed in this report.
However, we still have a long way to go. Only 30% of residents think cycling safety in their city is currently good, or just 21% when it comes to the safety of children riding a bike. People want more investment in safe, dedicated space for cycling in a network that gets them from door to door for everyday trips to work, education or shopping.
64% of people told us they would find protected roadside cycle lanes very useful to help them cycle more. And 78% of residents surveyed would support building more on road protected cycle lanes even when this could mean less space for vehicles.
Currently, in total only 19 miles of on-road cycle routes exist that are physically separated from traffic and pedestrians in six of the seven cities (excluding Birmingham where no data is available). It’s clear there is work to be done if we are to move forward.
It’s time for us all to work together to realise the role that cycling and walking can play in our cities. We know the answers, the public is supportive and we have seen cities like London, Seville and Oslo implement changes quickly with great results.
National and local governments must work together to invest and deliver segregated space for bikes and unlock the potential for cycling in every UK city.
A round-up of articles published in October using CLS study data.
Students whose parents had only GCSE qualifications were found to be less likely to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, when compared to students whose parents had a degree.
Childhood disadvantage is strongly associated with poorer adult mental wellbeing for Generation X.
Measures to support walking and cycling should feature heavily in plans to improve air quality. Transport emissions are among the major causes of air pollution in our towns and cities. Throughout the UK, local authorities are coming up with plans for how to address this challenge.
And soon we will be releasing a new tool to help to support the case in favour of walking and cycling measures.
The extent of the problem posed by air pollution has been well covered recently. Government action is long overdue. But there are many interests vying for attention in the possible mix of measures to reduce emissions from transport. We set out why walking and cycling solutions provide a better option.
Measures to eliminate diesel from the car fleet are sensible, but the extent of change to air quality that will result is limited. A large proportion of particulate matter emissions from cars come from brake and tyre wear – diesel elimination does not alter this. And petrol combustion is still an air pollutant, albeit less bad than diesel. Also, the administration of scrappage schemes is notoriously hard to manage, and funding often ends up benefitting people who don’t really need the financial support. Scrappage schemes that are wholly publically funded should not be considered as an appropriate solution, as they do not represent the best use of public sector funds.
Some of the same problems apply to the electrification of the car fleet. The same issue of emissions from brake and tyre wear apply, and the energy sourcing simply displaces the problem of combustion emissions from the exhaust pipe to the power station chimney. Increasing the extent of the electrification of the fleet increases demand for generation of electricity, and the consequent use of more fossil fuels (although the current mix of energy supply is improving, significant changes in demand will necessitate continued use of older, dirty energy generation methods for some time to come). In addition, the extra weight of batteries (significantly heavier than fuel tanks) mean that particulate matter from tyre and brake wear will be higher.
Public transport has a major role to play in supporting a move away from private vehicles. The electrification of public transport will help, but again we need to be mindful of electricity demand implications and the associated generation issues. Public transport users certainly deserve cleaner fleets – research suggests that exposure to poor air quality on public transport is uncomfortably high*. And we should also be mindful that large parts of the public transport network are already operating at close to capacity in peak hours – dealing with high demand by expanding the fleet, even with cleaner vehicles, will exacerbate energy demand issues.
Limiting the access of private vehicles in urban areas is a more positive solution. The most effective way to clean an area is to remove the root cause of the problem. Whether traffic restraint is applied in certain hours of the day, or in certain streets or areas, the air quality outcome should be positive – provided that care is taken not to displace the problem, such as drivers finding a different (longer?) route to their destination or businesses relocating to areas without traffic restraint (although many observers suggest that the reverse case is more likely – businesses will opt to move in to less polluted areas). Charging for access is worth considering, but must be coupled with significant investment in cycling and walking infrastructure and public transport to give people alternative ways to travel and avoid penalising the less wealthy.
Notwithstanding the question of charging, the major challenge of traffic restraint is accessibility. Whatever measures are implemented, people must have the means to get to their destinations.
The best alternative to these options is measures that support walking and cycling. There are no additional emissions or energy demand implications, active travel can be fully inclusive, and accessibility is supported.
Of course, the reality is that a combination of appropriate measures is probably the most effective approach to reducing polluting emissions from transport. We want to see all plans for air quality improvement underpinned by measures to support walking and cycling.
A new tool developed by Sustrans and Eunomia supports making the case for walking and cycling measures in terms of air quality. It shows how to get the best value in terms of air quality from supporting walking and cycling, and sets a framework for how to build plans for walking and cycling into plans to improve air quality.
Sustrans will welcome the opportunity to engage with people responsible for plans to address the air quality challenge to show how our tool can help. For more information about the air quality tool, please contact Dr Andy Cope.
*Sources
de Nazelle, A., Fruin, S., Westerdahl, D., Martinez, D., Ripoll, A., Kubesch, N., and Nieuwenhuijsen, M. (2012) A travel mode comparison of commuters’ exposures to air pollutants in Barcelona, Atmospheric Environment, Vol.59, pp.151–159
Zuurbier, M., Hoek, G., Hazel, P. van den, and Brunekreef, B. (2009) Minute ventilation of cyclists, car and bus passengers: an experimental study, Environmental Health, Vol.8, No.1, p.48
Zuurbier, M., Hoek, G., Oldenwening, M., Lenters, V., Meliefste, K., van den Hazel, P., and Brunekreef, B. (2010) Commuters’ Exposure to Particulate Matter Air Pollution Is Affected by Mode of Transport, Fuel Type, and Route, Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol.118, No.6, pp.783–789
Zuurbier, M., Hoek, G., Oldenwening, M., Meliefste, K., van den Hazel, P., and Brunekreef, B. (2011) Respiratory Effects of Commutersʼ Exposure to Air Pollution in Traffic:, Epidemiology, Vol.22, No.2, pp.219–227
Int Panis, L., de Geus, B., Vandenbulcke, G., et al. (2010) Exposure to particulate matter in traffic: A comparison of cyclists and car passengers, Atmospheric Environment, Vol.44, No.19, pp.2263–2270
Image credit: ofo
Bike sharing can create a transport system that is diverse, flexible and affordable
Sustrans and ofo share a simple goal. We both want to give people in Britain the choice to get onto bikes for everyday journeys.
In this blog post, Fraser Seifert, Policy and Strategy manager at ofo UK shares his thoughts on cycling.
Compared to Sustrans, which has been working hard since 1977, we’re relative newcomers having only arrived in the UK this year. But what a year. We’re already operating in Cambridge, Norwich, Oxford and Hackney. Today we’re pleased to announce our expansion into Islington, the borough in which Sustrans has its London office.
The reception from the public wherever we take our bikes has been hugely positive. We’re increasing the size of our fleet, hiring new staff all the time and new customers download our app and try our bikes every day.
Many people have said it before, but cycling can be a silver bullet for so many of the problems faced by society today: pollution, congestion and the numerous illnesses caused by sedentary lifestyles that are putting the NHS under such great pressure. Bikes can not only transform the way we travel in towns and cities, but also transform those towns and cities themselves, and even its inhabitants.
Consider this: the total distance ridden by ofo customers in just three years since we first launched in China has avoided a staggering total of 2.16m tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to saving over 615m litres of petrol and 1.035m tonnes of PM2.5 emissions.
One hurdle that needs to be overcome in modern cities is that it’s not always convenient to own a bicycle, whether that’s because you don’t have storage space at home, you have to take a cramped train for part of your journey or because there are no secure parking spaces at your place of work. Docked Bike share schemes like Santander Cycles are part of the answer here, but they tend to only serve city centres which can be limiting if you want to go further afield. Dockless bike sharing can fill the gap.
We can solve the ‘last mile’ problem, not only getting people from their city centre offices to train stations, but also home from the station at the other end. Harnessing the power of technology, we offer a simple proposition – simply open our app, scan the code on a bike and go.
We can bring bike sharing to a wider, more diverse audience than ever before. In some cities we have seen an increase of 5% in bike trips in just a few months. If that trend continues, we are going to see a real step change in how UK cities move and function.
We’re even using pedal power to run our scheme, operating e-bikes and bike trailers to help our staff move around, relocate or repair bikes without creating congestion or pollution themselves. Many other schemes do all this with diesel vans.
Social responsibility is taken seriously too. We don’t parachute in with thousands of bikes overnight. Ours is a considered approach, working closely with local authorities and community groups in areas where we intend to launch prior to putting bikes on the street.
We build dedicated teams of marshals who can solve any local issues. We’re a disrupter, but we also want to be a good corporate citizen. That’s why we recruit locally, pay the Living Wage and use local bike shops to maintain our fleet.
Yet there are still issues to overcome. Surveys show time and time again that the biggest reason people give for not cycling is that they think the roads are too dangerous. Vast numbers of people really do want to cycle, but don’t feel able or safe to.
So, while we can help provide cheap and easy access to bikes, the work of groups like Sustrans with its National Cycle Network and Quietways in London are vitally important. Building bike infrastructure suitable for modern cities will reap huge benefits, and Sustrans is helping to make this a reality with partners across the UK.
Ofo is part of a growing number of organisations that are looking to tap into the fantastic potential of cycling. Although bike sharing in the UK is still in its nascent phase, in a few years we hope cycling will be the preferred choice for short journeys.
Dockless bike sharing can create a transport system that is diverse, flexible and affordable. In doing so, our urban environments can transform into thriving and vibrant hubs that are not only better connected, but more liveable.
©Chandra Prasad/Sustrans
©Chandra Prasad/Sustrans
The American historian, sociologist and urbanist, Lewis Mumford observed that ‘trying to address congestion by building more traffic lanes is like trying to prevent obesity by loosening one’s belt’.
Mumford’s analogy is not only striking in its accuracy, but also in that he made it way back in 1955.
Nearly 70 years have passed since then and now more than ever his words seem particularly pertinent. We know building more roads invites more cars, more cars means more congestion, and more congestion means less welcoming places to live and work in.
Greater Manchester is just one of the city regions across the globe which is struggling to deal with the impacts of congestion. It has negative impacts on health and the economy but what is often overlooked is the impact it has on people. How does congestion actually make a place feel to those who live, travel, visit, and work?
Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester’s recently elected Metro Mayor, has taken the positive step of launching Transport for Greater Manchester’s ‘Congestion Conversation’, a consultation on congestion in the city and how it should be addressed.
The consultation follows on from Mr Burnham’s recent appointment of Chris Boardman as Cycling & Walking Commissioner for Greater Manchester. There is a sense that the status quo has to be disrupted.
In the past, politicians and local authorities have attempted to solve the problem of congestion by building new road space. This, however, has not proven to be a solution to the problem. A new approach needs to be taken if we are really to make an impact on the issue of congestion.
Greater Manchester is in an exciting position to embrace a more innovative approach based around people. There are a number of emerging examples of cities changing the way we think and move around our public realm.
Northern European cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam have often been the anomalies of the city transport-scape. Other cities are now beginning to join the transport revolution: New York, Tokyo, Paris, Barcelona and Vienna, to name but a few that are adopting more people-centred ways of moving around shared spaces.
Closer to home, only last month Oxford Council announced that by 2020 parts of the city will be off-limits to petrol and diesel private vehicles, while car use has decreased by 15% in London since 1990.
It’s far from a done deal that cities will use sustainable transport to tackle congestion. Sheffield City Council recently launched a consultation to convert some of the city centre’s cycle lanes into an extra lane for vehicles. Literally loosening one’s belt to deal with a congestion issue, if we use Mumford’s analogy.
Chris Boardman has made it clear that if we want more people to walk or cycle, it must be attractive, safe and convenient for your average man, woman or child. We know people want more cycling. Our 2015 Bike Life reports showed over 70% of people supported more investment in cycling and we have every reason to expect this trend will continue in the forthcoming 2017 Bike Life results.
To get our cities moving again we need to invest in alternative modes of transport which help the whole city rather than a minority of private vehicle owners.
We all benefit when everyone can move easily across our cities. Air quality improves, the national obesity epidemic can be addressed and economic vitality can hit new highs through the simple creation of places and spaces that people want to live, work, visit and invest in. As Mumford stated over half a century ago: “urban planning should emphasise an organic relationship between people and their living spaces”. Simple.
