§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cycling trips were made and what the total distance travelled by cyclists was in each of the last four years. [66571]
§ Mr. JamiesonFigures for Great Britain from the national Travel Survey are as follows:
1997 1998 1999 2000 Trips per person per year 18 15 17 16 Stages per person per year 18 15 17 17 Distance per person per year 41 36 42 37 Note:
Figures for 2001 are not yet available. Stages include all travel by bicycle but trips only include those where cycling was the main mode of travel. Averages are taken over all the population living in households, not just cyclists. The volatility of the single year figures is likely to be a result of the relatively small sample sizes and the geographical clustering of the sample. Cycling patterns over individual years are also very dependent on the weather.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has commissioned into making(a) cycling and (b) walking routes safer; if he will place a copy in the Library; and if he will list those schemes introduced in the last two years in order to make these routes safer. [66579]
§ Mr. JamiesonDetails of a number of current research projects on cycling and walking are listed in the "Road Safety Research, Compendium of Research Projects 2001–02" and in "Roads and Local Transport Research Programme Compendium of Research Projects 2000–01". The compendia are updated at regular intervals, deposited at the House of Commons Library, and are available on the Department's website. A list of schemes to make walking and cycling routes safer is not recorded centrally.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what Government funding was provided directly for cycle lanes in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement; [66575]
(2) how much money was allocated to local authorities in each of the last four years for the provision of cycle lanes. [66574]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Department has not funded any cycle lanes in the last four years. Since December 1999 local transport capital allocations have been provided to English local authorities outside London through the local transport plan system. Apart from major local transport schemes (those with a gross cost exceeding £5 million) funding is allocated in the form of a single block allocation the use of which is at the authorities discretion. Such funds can be used to implement cycle lanes but it is for authorities to decide their local priorities.
223WIn the first three years of local transport plan system, total single block allocations were as follows:
£ million 2002–03 1,200 2003–04 1,100 2004–05 514 Comparable figures for 1999–2000 are not available.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total length of cycle lanes is in the UK; and what percentage of these are(a) on the side of the carriageway, (b) on the pavement and (c) independent of a road or pavement. [665731]
§ Mr. JamiesonThis information is not held centrally. Local cycling strategies contain plans for up to 4,300 km of new cycle routes in England by 2005, but it is for individual local traffic authorities to monitor and hold the details of cycle lane provision in the area they control.