Pupils cycling in Wales triples
Thousands of pupils in twenty-four schools across Conwy and Neath Port Talbot have improved their health, reduced their carbon emissions and cut local congestion since becoming involved with Bike It.
Bike It came to Wales in September 2008 and has achieved great results in its first year. Prior to Bike It only 13 per cent of children in Conwy and Neath Port Talbot cycled to school once a week. A year on, this has increased to 39 per cent and the number of children that never cycle to school has almost halved.
This September, Bike It also began operating in Cardiff, where Sustrans hopes to see similar increases in the numbers of children cycling to school.
Bike It Officers work with pupils, parents and staff to help them overcome whatever it is that is preventing them from cycling to school - by organising cycle training and bike maintenance sessions, helping to install new bike sheds, contributing to classroom work and providing information about safe routes to schools.
The average school journey is just three miles, a distance that can easily be done by bike. And, with one in five thirteen-year olds in Wales classified as obese - a comparatively high figure to international levels - the benefits that cycling regularly can bring to children's health cannot be ignored.
The Welsh Assembly Government's Action Plan to boost walking and cycling over the next four years aims to triple the number of children cycling to school. But, Sustrans is concerned that there is no clear indication of how this is to be achieved and it points to how more projects like Bike It are needed. Bike It is perfectly demonstrating how to meet the targets that the Welsh Assembly has set. But now, consistent support is needed for schools across the country in promoting walking and cycling to school.
Bike It is delivered by Sustrans and funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the cycle industry through the Bike Hub. Locally it is supported by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, Conwy County Borough Council and Cardiff Council.