Sustainable transport charity Sustrans recently announced a 7% increase in usage of the National Cycle Network since 2012 and in July a Department for Transport survey revealed that people are taking fewer trips by car.
However in the midst of a funding crisis will Sustrans realise its ambitious vision of achieving four out of five local journeys being made on bike, foot or public transport by 2020? The charity’s chief executive Malcolm Shepherd remains cautiously optimistic. Elsie Bryant reports.
Malcolm, tell us what Sustrans is working on at the moment.
Well, we’ve just announced that the usage figures on the National Cycle Network increased by 7% last year, which is great news. We’ve also seen a new and interesting theme emerging for Sustrans focusing on community severance - building bridges across busy roads, rivers or railways, and removing barriers to people moving around their community in the way they would choose. Importantly, this has meant that they use them more and the usage levels on those schemes are quite extraordinary. We’re now building on this and I think it’s underwritten our approach to ensure that we engage on all occasions with communities before we do anything. It’s been a great learning curve for us.
Malcolm Shepherd
This sounds like good progress, but what challenges are you facing?
The big challenge facing us all at the moment is that we’re in a very strange situation where the public support, and indeed the political support for cycling has never been greater, but we’re still not getting that funding commitment through. I’m still optimistic that we might. There is the Government’s cycling and walking delivery plan and there is a debate in the Commons about it sponsored by the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group (APPCG). They produced ‘Get Britain Cycling’ last year and called for committed, dedicated funding over a long period of time. Now we just need to work together to make sure it’s in place.
It must be difficult to hear there’s no money for walking and cycling when so much is being spent on road improvements and new roads?
It is and that’s exactly the sort of conversation we need to be having with the Department for Transport (DfT), with government and with all the parties. I heard a DfT announcement a couple of weeks ago where they said there is more money going into transport now than there has been for three generations. That’s great, I mean, we don’t necessarily agree with growth in roads or air, but it shows that the money is there and after that it’s about prioritisation. What we’re asking for, frankly, is a crumb from the table. The AP- PCG were calling for £10 per head investment, so let’s start there.
Can we really keep building new roads?
No, but there are plans to build new roads and the strategic road network is getting a five-year settlement for considerable investment. I agree that we should be maintaining what we do have but I don’t agree with building new roads. We should be looking to better utilise our existing roads and preferably reallocate space for cycling in local authorities where possible. We know how to do it and there is more and more evidence available for how we can transform the way people move. The important thing is that people want to walk and cycle more. In general, how well do you think local authorities are progressing with sustainable transport? Generally most local authorities understand the need for sustainable transport now and are committed to it at least in policy terms, but they have a very difficult funding crisis on their hands and most are facing more cuts. To be developing any area of investment isn’t easy.
How much is getting this investment about changing the mindset that roads mean making money?
Actually, the benefit cost ratio of building roads is much less than that of building cycling infrastructure. The differences are enormous and are well known by government. Typically, the benefit cost ratio of the 84 schemes we finished last year was around 6.5:1 over 30 years. A typical road scheme is 1-1.5:1 over 80 years. People who think roads mean money are ignoring the cost benefits, job creation and economic growth that come from our type of scheme.
How do you see walking and cycling infrastructure progressing over the next decade?
I think we’re on the cusp of a major change. There are some huge funding issues here, but never before have we seen so many people from all sorts of backgrounds and all sorts of political parties all saying and demanding the same thing. What is it that’s getting in the way of doing it? No-one’s going to criticise it. London mayor Boris Johnson may have been criticised for many things, but not for his investment in cycling, which has actually transformed London over many years. He has many more plans ahead too. You come back to London in five years time and it will look, feel and be very different.
How much do you think this increase in demand for sustainable transport is linked to growing awareness of issues like climate change?
I think that there is a real groundswell of concern about health, our rising levels of obesity, lack of fitness and the burden on the NHS. Air quality is another issue. It’s pretty widely known now that we’re about to be sued by Europe for our failure to meet air quality standards. Getting cars off the road through increased levels of cycling will improve this automatically. Climate change is worsening, we know that. The most recent figures show higher levels of CO2 emissions than ever before and transport is the only sector in the UK where there is CO2 growth, other sectors are declining. There are so many things we should be demanding and better provision for walking and cycling is high up there.
Are there any outstanding cities or countries that you hold up as an example for the UK to follow?
Most of northern Europe has been investing in cycling for 30- 40 years, which is why they’re so far ahead. Investing £10 per head or more over that length of time establishes a culture and a whole sense of public space that doesn’t exist in the UK. Places like Copenhagen don’t knock things down to build roads right through the middle and they are committed to making high-quality spaces for people that encourage them to walk and cycle.
What would you like to see happen to make cycling safer?
Well 20mph speed limits everywhere in towns and cities is the minimum and I think lots are beginning to adopt this. We also need better public spaces built for segregated cycling - there’s not enough of that going on at the moment.
How big a part do you see Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) playing in the funding of sustainable transport schemes?
We’re deeply concerned and disappointed with the potential ending of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund - a fantastic initiative brought in by this government. Most of the money now is going through LEPs. The way they currently regard transport is that roads generate growth and give better access to industrial estates and so on. That’
