Cycle-rail journeys 'almost triple'

MASSIVE increases to public transport network spending have led to the near-tripling of the number of ‘cycle-rail’ journeys taken since 2009, according to government statistics.

An update on the coalition’s ‘door to door action plan’, published close to the New Year, details how huge increases in funding for secure cycle parking facilities and public transport integration have led to increased usage.

The government is using the data to encourage more people to take up ‘greener’ ways of getting to work.

Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said: "The new year is an ideal time to join the increasing numbers of people who are choosing healthy, more environmentally-friendly methods of getting to work.

"Real life journeys on public transport tend to be more complicated than just a single trip on a train or three stops on the local bus. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to choose greener ways of getting between each mode of transport.”

The door to door action plan reports that a £14 million investment in two new state-of-the-art bus interchanges at Rochdale and Mansfield is improving integration with rail travel.

According to further claims, a £14.5 million investment in cycle facilities at railway stations has been the major enabler in doubling the amount of cycle parking spaces at stations in the lifetime of this Parliament.

This, the report states, has contributed to the number of cycle-rail journeys increasing from 14 million in 2009 to an all time high of 39 million a year.

By Press Association reporter