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Campaigners: SNP goal of 10 per cent cycling share by 2020 "impossible" to achieve

Goal was set out in 2010's Cycling Action Plan for Scotland - but minimal progress made...

“Impossible” – that’s the verdict of Scotland’s largest cycling campaign group on the SNP’s longstanding aim to have 10 per cent of journeys in the country made by bike by 2020.

Edinburgh and Lothian campaign group Spokes says that with just four years to go, there is “no hope” of hitting the target “under any realistic financial scenario,” reports the Scotsman.

The group’s assertion comes as the country heads to the polls on Thursday for elections to the Scottish Parliament with the SNP, in power since 2007, seeking a third term.

In 2010, the SNP government published its Cycling Action Plan for Scotland, which highlighted that ambition of cycling making up one in ten trips by 2020 – then, a decade away.

More than halfway through that period, only minimal progress has been made. According to Spokes, modal share for cycling of all journeys has risen from 1 per cent to 1.4 per cent. Just 2.6 per cent of commutes are by bike.

“From the outset, we have said it was a hugely ambitious aim in that timescale, and we called for an ­evidence-based and costed pathway to reach it,” said Dave du Feu, lead organiser of Spokes.

“That was never done. It is now impossible by 2020 at any likely cash level. There is now no hope of reaching it under any realistic financial scenario.

Ahead of next week’s poll, Spokes has rated the main parties on their cycling policies.

The Green Party tops the list, with Labour and the Liberal Democrats joint second. The SNP is tied for fifth with the Conservatives.

But Scottish transport minister Derek Mackay insisted that the SNP was still committed to meeting its target.

He said: “We remain determined to meet our ambitious vision of 10 per cent of everyday journeys made by bike by 2020 – that’s why we will continue to make record investment in cycling and walking over the life of the next Parliament.

“Increasing the number of journeys by foot or bike will benefit our environment, economy, public health and much more.”

Mr Du Feu said: “The SNP manifesto is basically promising to maintain current spending levels, not to increase them.

“Ministers, and the manifesto, keep repeating their ‘determination’ to meet the vision/target, and probably believe what they are saying, but if so, their determination is based on wishful thinking, not on evidence.”

He added that putting in place infrastructure such as segregated cycle lanes could take several years, partly because of the time it takes to conduct the consultation process and address objections.

Last month, thousands of cyclists from across Scotland took part in the fifth annual Pedal On Parliament ride, held in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, calling for greater investment from the government in active travel.

> Record numbers take part in Pedal On Parliament

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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13 comments

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zedthegreat | 7 years ago
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This is obviously anecdotal, but as someone who grew up and lived in Edinburgh until around 6 months ago, it isn't the council / gov funded infrastructure in Scotland that put me off cycling, but the lack of facilities at my end point (the office!). In my last job there was one shower in a 600 person building and no dedicated secure storage and in my last but one job two showers in a >2000 person building. If only a couple of percent of my colleagues cycle, when we were all expected to arrive around 9am, then you see the problem.

Already I have discovered in London, in admittedly larger offices, there is secure cycle storage, lockers and proper gym changing facilities with no charge.

But then I work in the private sector so not sure what the gov can do about this??

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Dnnnnnn replied to zedthegreat | 7 years ago
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zedthegreat wrote:

But then I work in the private sector so not sure what the gov can do about this??

Well, it could try. New development can be planned properly and existing workplaces incentivised to provide facilities and perhaps less so to provide so much parking. There's quite a lot that small steps can deliver - there just has to be the initial vision and will.

Which there isn't.

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zedthegreat replied to Dnnnnnn | 7 years ago
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Duncann wrote:

There just has to be the initial vision and will.

Which there isn't.

very true

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The Family Cyclist | 7 years ago
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Thanks old strath (not short for strathpeffer by any chance). I'd agree def cyclable

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joebee9870 | 7 years ago
2 likes

The SNP having been spending less on roads and giving the money away like free prescriptions and uni places as a vote getter. We all no nothing in life is free. An expression the SNP clearly believe is true.

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joebee9870 | 7 years ago
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Its all Maggies fault.....Can we still blame her??

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Jacobi | 7 years ago
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The Green Party tops the list, with Labour and the Liberal Democrats joint second. 

It's easy for these three parties  to make fantastic promises and be all things to all men when they know they are 100% guaranteed not going to be elected into power, so therefore never going to be held to account for their pie-in-the-sky policies.

Over the past five years there's been a lot of work going on near where I live. Miles and miles of cycle/pedestrian paths have been built. I can now use cycle lanes to Glasgow (27 miles), to Edinburgh (33 miles), and numerous other shorter distance journeys in all directions purely on cycle lanes.

Getting people off their backsides and out and about using them seems to be the problem. Having said that there does seem to be an increase in the number cyclists in our area over the past year or so as more and more people are made aware of the existence of the pathways. Perhaps an advertising campaign on TV could help make a huge difference. 

 

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The Family Cyclist | 7 years ago
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Against this statistic I'd like to see something which indicates average commute distance. In England the big cycle commuter hotspots seem to be the big cities and guess the distance to work may be lower then the comparison in Scotland. I knpw when I have visited Scotland we have driven a lot of miles to get to both the usual tourist things but also to essentials like a supermarket.

Im not defending or knocking the SNP just like to have some context to statistics.

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oldstrath replied to The Family Cyclist | 7 years ago
1 like

The Family Cyclist wrote:

Against this statistic I'd like to see something which indicates average commute distance. In England the big cycle commuter hotspots seem to be the big cities and guess the distance to work may be lower then the comparison in Scotland. I knpw when I have visited Scotland we have driven a lot of miles to get to both the usual tourist things but also to essentials like a supermarket. Im not defending or knocking the SNP just like to have some context to statistics.

The NTS for 2014 (http://www.transport.gov.scot/statistics/statistical-trends/personal-travel) suggest a average about 8 miles, so a pretty easy distance to ride

 

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Dnnnnnn replied to oldstrath | 7 years ago
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oldstrath wrote:

The Family Cyclist wrote:

Against this statistic I'd like to see something which indicates average commute distance. In England the big cycle commuter hotspots seem to be the big cities and guess the distance to work may be lower then the comparison in Scotland. I knpw when I have visited Scotland we have driven a lot of miles to get to both the usual tourist things but also to essentials like a supermarket. Im not defending or knocking the SNP just like to have some context to statistics.

The NTS for 2014 (http://www.transport.gov.scot/statistics/statistical-trends/personal-travel) suggest a average about 8 miles, so a pretty easy distance to ride

Scotland's population is quite urbanised. Yes, there are huge, empty spaces but very few live/work there.  One-third of them work in Glasgow and Edinburgh alone and the majority there *don't* drive to work.

 

Average (mean) distance – like average income – isn’t always helpful either. It’s often skewed by relative small numbers travelling (or earning) huge amounts.

In England and Wales, the 2011 Census found the average commute was 15km – similar to Scotland. But most (52%) people travelled less than 10km. Actually, if you exclude those who work from home (i.e. don’t commute) and the 8% in ‘Other’ then those commuting under 10km becomes 62%. Under 5km is 42%.

Cycling could - and really should - be a popular option for most.

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crazy-legs | 7 years ago
5 likes

Even London, with it's vastly greater spend on cycling infrastructure, bike share scheme and tiny (relatively speaking) area was only aiming for a 5% modal share by 2026 although it's more or less on course to meet that. Even then it's far from evenly distributed - certain parts of London see about 1/3rd traffic as bikes, other parts see less than 1% of journeys made by bike.

Quite how Scotland thought it could get 10% modal share across the entire country is beyond belief. The usual shite spouted by politicians keen to pander to whatever group think will vote for them that time round.

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tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
2 likes

Only the greens would have really came close to the 10% target. How many of the SNP, (who factually, are from white-collar, drive-your-exec-class-car-to-work, backgrounds) actually cycle?

 

Scottish politics were on a high, full of hopey-changey stuff, just like the US. And just like the US, it will all turn out to be shallow and unfulfilled. 

You can't really expect society changing infrastructure or nu-socialism from a party who are in the majority composed of accountants and business execs. 

 

Same old people, same old tricks. 

 

None of it matters though, Scotland will rally behind these charlatans until the Independance issue has genuinely been seen to its conclusion, and that's a long way off yet. But after that, people will start looking at social progress and see that things aren't actually improving. I'll give the SNP 10 years, then it'll start to get ugly.

 

Was nice to see Labour getting a kicking though. 

 

 

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Dnnnnnn | 7 years ago
3 likes

Whatever you think of the SNP, I don't think anyone can claim their record on promoting cycling is in any way good. Spending on trunk roads and railways, yes, local sustainable transport - in any form - no. Not so much different from the hated Tories down South really.

Not that the Labour-LibDem predecessor coalition was any better.

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