Open letter to the Minister of State for Transport
Dear Minister – Thank you for replying to our letter to Gordon Brown
about the need for effective cross governmental strategies regarding
cycling and walking. The United Kingdom urgently needs increased walking
and cycling to improve public health and for environmental sustainability.
Most adults in the UK are overweight and it is predicted that 60% of
men and 50% of women will be clinically obese by 2050 – costing an
estimated £50 billion annually. [1] Substantial increases in walking and
cycling will help to tackle this epidemic. Furthermore, reliance on oil-
dependent motorised transport is a major contributor to climate change,
which threatens humanity.
There is huge potential to increase walking and cycling. The UK
National Travel Survey [2]states 68% of trips are less than 5 miles and
41% are under 2 miles, distances that could easily be cycled or walked. In
The Netherlands over 25% of all trips are by bicycle, and other European
countries are approaching this level. [3] However, over the last decade,
the share of trips made by bicycle in the UK has remained constant at 2%.
[2]
You state in your letter that the annual budget for Cycling England
will double to £20 million next year, rising to £60 million for the
following two years. This means current cycling expenditure represents
only about 0.1% of Department for Transport spending. [4] Economic
modelling for Cycling England shows that increasing cycling levels 20 per
cent by 2015 could save £107 million in reducing premature deaths, £52
million in NHS costs and £87 million in reduced absence from work. [5]
We note that the emphasis of your plan is on children. Adults would
gain more from increased walking and cycling because of their higher
prevalence of obesity and the higher risk of obesity-related health
events.
Your strategies to increase walking include publishing guidance on
the production of walking maps, launching a walking website, and the
publication of a manual promoting people-oriented streets. [6] In reality,
walking has been designed out of urban environments – which are built for
cars. We believe the strategies you proposed have not the slightest chance
of bringing about the increases in physical transport activities needed
for environmental sustainability and public health. The Department for
Transport should target one third of all trips to be by bicycle, with a
corresponding proportion of the annual departmental budget allocated to
achieving this.
Yours sincerely,
Helen Dale, Phil Edwards, William Lee, Andrei Morgan, Ian Roberts
[3] Pucher J. and Buehler R., At the Frontiers of Cycling: Policy
Innovations in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, World Transport
Policy and Practice, 2007 December; 13( 3):8-57. Available from: http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/
[5] Issued by Cycling England: SQW Limited, Valuing the benefits of
cycling: a report to Cycling England, 2007, June [cited 2008, June 18].
Available from: http://www.cyclingengland.co.uk/viewer.php?fd=225
[6] Issued by Department for Transport: Llewelyn Davies Yeang, Phil
Jones Associates and TRL Limited, Manual for Streets, London: Thomas
Telford; 2007, March. Available from: http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/publications/apr/ar2008/
Competing interests:
HD, WL and AM are members of the London Cycling Campaign. AM is also co-Chair of the London School for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Bicycle Users Group.
Competing interests:
No competing interests
20 June 2008
Andrei Morgan
MSc Student, Epidemiology MSc Course, LSHTM
Helen Dale, Phil Edwards, William Lee, Ian Roberts
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel St, London WC1E 7HT, UK
Rapid Response:
Open letter to the Minister of State for Transport
Dear Minister – Thank you for replying to our letter to Gordon Brown
about the need for effective cross governmental strategies regarding
cycling and walking. The United Kingdom urgently needs increased walking
and cycling to improve public health and for environmental sustainability.
Most adults in the UK are overweight and it is predicted that 60% of
men and 50% of women will be clinically obese by 2050 – costing an
estimated £50 billion annually. [1] Substantial increases in walking and
cycling will help to tackle this epidemic. Furthermore, reliance on oil-
dependent motorised transport is a major contributor to climate change,
which threatens humanity.
There is huge potential to increase walking and cycling. The UK
National Travel Survey [2]states 68% of trips are less than 5 miles and
41% are under 2 miles, distances that could easily be cycled or walked. In
The Netherlands over 25% of all trips are by bicycle, and other European
countries are approaching this level. [3] However, over the last decade,
the share of trips made by bicycle in the UK has remained constant at 2%.
[2]
You state in your letter that the annual budget for Cycling England
will double to £20 million next year, rising to £60 million for the
following two years. This means current cycling expenditure represents
only about 0.1% of Department for Transport spending. [4] Economic
modelling for Cycling England shows that increasing cycling levels 20 per
cent by 2015 could save £107 million in reducing premature deaths, £52
million in NHS costs and £87 million in reduced absence from work. [5]
We note that the emphasis of your plan is on children. Adults would
gain more from increased walking and cycling because of their higher
prevalence of obesity and the higher risk of obesity-related health
events.
Your strategies to increase walking include publishing guidance on
the production of walking maps, launching a walking website, and the
publication of a manual promoting people-oriented streets. [6] In reality,
walking has been designed out of urban environments – which are built for
cars. We believe the strategies you proposed have not the slightest chance
of bringing about the increases in physical transport activities needed
for environmental sustainability and public health. The Department for
Transport should target one third of all trips to be by bicycle, with a
corresponding proportion of the annual departmental budget allocated to
achieving this.
Yours sincerely,
Helen Dale, Phil Edwards, William Lee, Andrei Morgan, Ian Roberts
[1]Government Office for Science, Foresight – Tackling Obesities:
Future Choices. Department of Innovation Universities and Skills; 2007.
Available from:
http://www.foresight.gov.uk/Obesity/Obesity_final/Index.html
[2] Transport Statistics: Department for Transport, National Travel
Survey: 2006, London: National Statistics; 2007, August. Available from:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/personal/mai...
[3] Pucher J. and Buehler R., At the Frontiers of Cycling: Policy
Innovations in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, World Transport
Policy and Practice, 2007 December; 13( 3):8-57. Available from:
http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/
[4] Department for Transport, Annual Report, 2008,
http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/publications/apr/ar2008/ (2008, April)
[5] Issued by Cycling England: SQW Limited, Valuing the benefits of
cycling: a report to Cycling England, 2007, June [cited 2008, June 18].
Available from: http://www.cyclingengland.co.uk/viewer.php?fd=225
[6] Issued by Department for Transport: Llewelyn Davies Yeang, Phil
Jones Associates and TRL Limited, Manual for Streets, London: Thomas
Telford; 2007, March. Available from:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/publications/apr/ar2008/
Competing interests:
HD, WL and AM are members of the London Cycling Campaign. AM is also co-Chair of the London School for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Bicycle Users Group.
Competing interests: No competing interests