Boris bikes and superhighways - have your say

The question of how the rollout of hundreds of docking stations, thousands of hire bikes and miles of cycle superhighways is progressing is being addressed by the London Assembly’s Transport Committee.

The Committee is attempting to determine the extent to which these new initiatives are getting more Londoners cycling and you can help answer that question by filling in their survey.

Mayor Boris Johnson has called 2010 the ‘Year of Cycling’ and has made a high-profile commitment to increase the 500,000 daily trips currently made by cyclists in London to 1.5 million by 2026.

The three main cycling initiatives are:
• The Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme - launched on 30 July;
• The Barclays Cycle Superhighways – two of the 12 Superhighways which are intended to link inner and outer London to the City were launched on 19 July;
• Biking Boroughs – launched in January in outer London to encourage local cycling initiatives.

The Committee’s findings, based in part on the survey, will form the basis of further work next year. The terms of reference of the investigation are:
• To examine the initial impact of the Barclays Cycle Superhighway and Cycle Hire Schemes; and
• To examine any issues arising from the early implementation and consider the solutions proposed; and to assess the potential for, and issues to address, in any further roll out or expansion of the schemes.

So, if you live in London or if you have used the Barclays cycle hire scheme and have a view on it, now’s your chance to have your say.

Initial research already carried out by the Assembly has received feedback from 1,200 Londoners. Of the respondents, 21 per cent said they had only started cycling in the capital after the £140 million cycle hire scheme was launched on July 30. The Mayor's other big cycling initiative — “cycle superhighways” — has, however, been much less popular with novice riders.

The Evening Standard reports that the superhighways, which comprise mainly unsegregated 1.5 metre-wide blue lanes, were criticised for the lack of protection they give to cyclists. Sixty per cent of survey respondents said they did not make them feel safer on the road.