Government wants more children to access cycle training

Government wants more children to access cycle training

The government wants to provide more children with access to cycle training.

Its ‘Gear Change’ policy includes 43 new projects, which will run over the next year.

This includes Bikeability training programs. These aim to give children in low uptake areas the opportunity to access cycle training.

There are several areas with low uptake in cycle training. These include areas of deprivation, some ethnic backgrounds, and female teenagers.

Bikeability cycle training

The Bikeability Trust is the national charity for Bikeability, the Government’s cycle education program. It has appointed TRL (The Future of Transport) to test the success of the projects.

Dr George Beard, Head of New Mobility at TRL said: “TRL is delivering this evaluation to provide The Bikeability Trust with a strong standard of evidence on the effectiveness, impact, and success of the projects, which will inform the business case for additional Bikeability funding from the DfT.

“Our experience and expertise span the areas which are core to this work, including monitoring and evaluation, cycling and active travel, understanding, and catering for the needs of underrepresented groups, mode shift, and behaviour change.”

As part of the project, TRL will evaluate the success of the schemes. Using a logic map, dedicated framework, and data collection.”

It will be addressing issues such as:

Which interventions had the greatest impact, and for which groups? Which are most likely to influence future cycling behaviour?

How effective was project delivery, and can the projects be scaled up in future?

Government cycle plan

It is all part of the Government’s plan to increase cycling and walking over the next decade.

Emily Cherry, Chief Executive of The Bikeability Trust said: “We have tasked TRL with independently assessing whether the funded projects increased participation in Bikeability training programmes, and the subsequent propensity to cycle amongst groups of children currently underrepresented in Bikeability training.

“This work is very important for assessing the impact of our Widening Participation Fund projects, ensuring our investments are utilised effectively and we are able to meet our mission.”

Cycling has many health and well-being benefits. Bikeability provides training to ensure that cyclists are safe on the roads.

Changes in the recent Highway Code gave cyclists higher priority on roads. Cyclists now have priority over motorists. Read more HERE

NV Legal

NV Legal supports the government scheme which aims to train more children to ride safely.

Although the new Highway Code gives cyclists priority, they are still vulnerable road users. Often on roads that do not have a safe infrastructure for vulnerable road users.

If you are involved in a cycling accident, please contact us for a free legal consultation.