Elect to cycle

This spring’s elections look likely to transform large parts of the UK’s political landscape. Wales may see the biggest shake-up since devolution began.

Polls predict a move away from a longstanding Welsh Labour government. Plus, there’s a new electoral system. Competition for seats in the Senedd will be fierce.

In Scotland, the polls suggest that the SNP looks set to secure the most seats but not necessarily a majority, and at least 39 current MSPs are standing down. With many seats predicted to go to the Scottish Greens, Liberal Democrats or Reform, there will be lots of new faces in Holyrood.

Then there’s the turmoil around English local elections. Some councils were told to delay until 2027, only to be thrust back into election mode this year.

The youth vote

All this change makes it crucial to engage with incoming politicians from all parties to find allies who will champion cycle-friendly policies. Election candidates hear a lot about issues like security, immigration and the cost of living.

Active travel is unlikely to be top of their list of voter concerns. We need to prove that it’s important to their constituents, and show how more cycling can solve other problems.

Young people especially care about this. In Scotland, 74% of under-25s support redesigning streets to improve safety for walking and cycling (source: YouGov polls for Cycling UK).

Feelings are equally strong in Wales. Three quarters of 16- to 30-year-olds support street improvements, and 6 in 10 favour allocating 10% of the transport budget to walking and cycling.

Millie, a 16-year-old student from Penarth, told us: “The issue is, we really need more separated cycle lanes, like the ones around Newport Road. More dedicated cycle lanes would be a game changer for how people like me get around.”

Gwenda Owen, Cycling UK’s Wales Advocacy and Development Lead, said: “This should send a clear message to candidates standing in May’s Senedd elections. Young people across Wales strongly support investment in cycling and walking, and want to see practical changes that make active travel safer and easier.”

Cycling UK’s demands

Our manifestos for Scotland and Wales carry a simple message for future governments: make cycling the easy choice. Here’s how they can do that:

1. Invest in active travel
2. Create safer roads for everyone
3. Improve access to green spaces
4. Increase transport choice and connectivity for all
5. Enable more children to cycle, especially in Scotland

1. Invest in active travel

When budgets are tight, creating cycling and walking routes is one of the most cost-effective things councils can do. Getting more people cycling saves health services money and boosts footfall in local shops.

But competing for funding pots makes it difficult for councils to plan. Long-term investment from governments would enable councils to create good-quality networks.

2. Create safer roads for everyone

It was controversial, but reducing most 30mph streets in Wales to 20mph has had a huge, life-saving impact.

“Picture a two-carriage train heading to Wrexham,” said Cycling UK’s Public Affairs Officer Tomos Owens. “Now imagine that the entire train, almost every person in both carriages, was saved from a trip to hospital or worse this past summer.

“That’s roughly how many people – 100 lives – were saved from being killed or seriously injured on Welsh roads during the first year of 20mph.”

In that context, it seems incredible that we have so many narrow, winding rural lanes with 60mph limits. We’re pressing future Welsh and Scottish governments to ask councils to make sure rural speed limits are appropriate for the type of road.

We’re also asking for greater publicity of the Highway Code, as surveys show that many people still aren’t aware of the changes from 2022.

3. Improve access to green spaces

This one is a vote winner. Recent research has found that people are united by love for local nature, regardless of how we vote. But reaching green spaces by bike isn’t always easy.

Wales has a confusing rights of way network, which limits the paths you can use. Scotland’s underfunded core path network can be neglected and unreliable. To make it easier for us all to be active outdoors, we need paths that are easy to access from home.

4. Increase transport choice and connectivity for all

A fair transport system doesn’t force people into cars or exclude those who can’t afford one. It provides real, attractive alternatives. That means giving everyone the choice to make shorter local trips safely by bike or on foot, and to combine those with a bus or train for longer journeys.

Good things are already happening. New carriages on the Heart of Wales line have space for up to 12 bikes. More bus companies are carrying bikes in places like Aberdeenshire and the Borders.

We want to see more joined-up route planning, and targets for increasing the proportion of journeys made by walking, cycling and public transport.

5. Enable more children to cycle

Children want to be able to cycle – to school, for local journeys and for fun. We see this from the growth of families riding to school together as part of organised bike buses.

“Bike buses are incredibly powerful tools for drawing people together,” said Emily Farquhar, a bike bus leader in Edinburgh. “When you start cycling, it’s clear for everyone in your local area to see the benefits of making cycling safer: quieter streets, less pollution, healthier people and, ultimately, the school run is suddenly a fun activity.”

To give children confidence and independence, we’re calling for every child in Scotland to have access to Bikeability training. This would build on the 62% of Scottish schools that currently offer it.

Winning hearts and minds

“Cycling in Scotland has come a long way since the last election,” said Cycling UK’s Scotland Advocacy Lead Scott Runciman.

“Much of this is thanks to our members and supporters, who have helped campaign for funding and better policies over the past five years. But if we want cycling to be an everyday option for more people, the next Scottish Government must do even more to make cycling the easy choice.”

To make that happen in Scotland and Wales, politicians need to know that improving streets for cycling and walking has widespread support. The best person to convince them of that is you, as a voter. By using our simple online tool to contact your candidates, you can make sure they know this is a popular move.