Cycling, the greenest form of mechanised transport, is also increasing on a national level helped by expanding networks of dedicated cycle routes and the Ride2Work scheme that gives tax breaks for purchases made through employers.
London has led the way with a considerable increase in investment. In 2000 Transport for London spent £5.5m. In 2007-2008 it will spend £36m. And there is more planned. By 2010 the 500km London cycle network will have expanded to 900km. According to Mick Hickford, head of special projects for TfL, "we get more cyclists in winter months - which are always quieter - now than we used to get in the summer".
This article first appeared in the Ecologist July 2007
