Labour demands Chancellor release money promised for walking and cycling ahead of new figures on road casualties

Labour has demanded the Chancellor use his autumn spending review to release cash promised for walking and cycling ahead of new figures on casualties, after the Government’s own data revealed 66% of cyclists think roads are too dangerous.

Post-lockdown, traffic levels are returning to near-normal traffic levels on many streets, meaning those who started cycling during lockdown may feel less inclined to do so, particularly as the nights draw in.

The upward trend in the number of pedal cyclists killed or seriously injured has also continued, with the provisional figure rising to 4,320 in 2020. Final figures will be published in reported road casualties Great Britain on 30 September 2021.

Official figures show that 66% of respondents to the Government’s official British social attitudes survey ‘agreed or strongly agreed that it is too dangerous for me to cycle on the road’. This is up from 61% in 2011. Of those that cycle, there’s been a 30% increase in number feeling it’s too dangerous over the decade, from 44% in 2011 to 57% in 2020.

There has been a stark increase in men feeling it’s too dangerous, up 9% on the decade (from 52 to 61%).

A majority of respondents to The National Travel Attitudes Survey (NTAS) said new cycling safety and infrastructure would encourage them to cycle more, with popular measures including:

• off-road and segregated cycle paths (55%)
• safer roads (53%)
• well-maintained road surfaces for cycling (49%)

With the Comprehensive Spending Review due next month, Labour is calling on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to release the remainder of the £2bn of funds promised for active travel, so improved infrastructure can be put in place while more people are in the habit of walking and cycling to work.

The next Labour government would also set out a three-point plan to get the country cycling, including:

1. Provide fast-track funding for councils to invest in cycling safety measures such as cycle lanes, superhighways or quiet ways.
2. A comprehensive new national cycling safety campaign targeted at both cyclists and motorists.
3. Calling on all employers to make use of the cycle to work scheme

Kerry McCarthy, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Green and Future Transport, said:

“It’s time this Government showed some real ambition, striking while the iron is hot on active travel rather than rehashing old pledges.

“It’s very worrying that we’ve gone back to the levels of pollution and congestion that we had before Covid, and in some places things are even worse. Unless the Conservatives do more to make our roads safer for cyclists, the problem is only going to escalate.

“We need to see a proper plan from Government to get people cycling and keep them safe on our roads.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• Latest road casualty statistics will be published on September 30 (link)
• The Government gave a commitment to spent £2 billion on cycling this parliament but this was part of a £5 billion funding pledge already made in February for buses and cycling (link)
• This £2 billion pot of funding will only keep cycle funding at the same level it was before: “The government is only forecast to get a third of the way to its target of doubling the percentage of cycle trips people take – from 2% of all journeys in 2015 to 4% by 2025.” (link)
• There is still a lack of detail of how this money will be spent. As the House of Commons reported in March: “This February, the Prime Minister pledged £5 billion to increase bus use and cycling in England. With further details expected in the forthcoming Budget and Spending Review.” (link)
• The Department for Transport sponsored bike safety course ‘Bikeability’ is targeted for school children. There are no online educational videos on the website and limited tips for adults cycling. (link) If commuters did the course whilst in primary school they would have at their oldest have been 11. So 29 years ago for a 40 year old thinking of cycling to work for the first time.
• Official figures show that 66% of respondents to the Government’s official British social attitudes survey “agreed or strongly agreed that it is too dangerous for me to cycle on the road” (link)
• In 2019 there were 107,535 accidents on English roads. There were 1,403 fatal accidents. There were 117,536 accidents on British Roads and 1,658 deaths. (link)
• The table below shows that the number of cyclists killed or injured on British roads has increased starkly over the last ten years.

DfT, Reported road causalities, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/ras30-reported-casualties-in-road-accidents