UK Cycling Towns: a cost-effective

investment?

Nick Cavill PhD

The Cycling Demonstration Towns programme

• First phase: October 2005 –October 2008

• Now in the second phase, funded to 2011

• This presentation focuses on results from the first phase of work

• All towns funded at  approx €6   per head per year, matched by the local authority

• All towns ‘medium‐sized’; larger ones focussed effort on part of their population

245,000

248,000

65,000

The Cycling Demonstration Towns programme

Cycle counts: headline results (2005‐8)

Numbers annotating bars are the median value daily counts at all count locations in each town

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

All Aylesbury Brighton andHove

Darlington Derby Exeter Lancasterwith

Morecambe

% g

row

th in

cyc

le c

ount

s

113

85

386

98

79

103

136

Changes in cycling between 2006 and 2009 : ICM (n=c.9,000)

• % any cycling in past year: 24.3% to 27.7% • New to cycling: 1.8% to 2.8% • Cycled in last 7 days: 41.7% to 49.4%

• No sig change: mean days in last week; mean time in last week; % ride to work; days cycled to work  

Number of cyclists 

Amount of cycling 

• Estimated from survey data

• Response to questions about cycling in a typical week 

• 20 minutes 

• 2.9 times per week mean 

HEAT

Benefit: Cost Ratio

Total value of reduced mortality over 10 years = £45m

For every £1 spent in the cycling towns, the value of reduced mortality is £2.50