Parliament hears calls for Cycle to Work reform

Calls to reform bike subsidies were heard by the The All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking (APPGCW) at its latest meeting, on the 25th anniversary of the Cycle to Work scheme's launch.

Cycle to Work offers savings of up to 42% on bike purchases, averaging £1,600 in London, and accounted for a quarter of all bikes bought in the UK last year. At the meeting on 22 January, chair of Cycle To Work Alliance, Chris Last, highlighted research finding that if it hadn't been for the scehme, six in 10 of its users would drive to work.

However, Jonathan Harrison of the Association of Cycle Traders, which represents about 1,000 of the UK's 2,500 bike shops, said the scheme was too complicated; he added that the salary sacrifice aspect excluded those on lower incomes and often meant wages dipping below the UK minimum including, ironically, for many in the cycle trade. In addition, given current discounts on bikes for sale, because of post-pandmemic oversupply, discounts offered through the subsidy meant that retailers were often selling bikes at a loss.

These comments were presented to the APPGCW in-person meeting on 22 January. The APPGCW was formed to scrutinise government policy (coverage of the group's 2024 programme is here) and includes about 100 parliamentarians and 70 associate members. 

Selaine Saxby, MP, called for the devolutiuon to councils of funding and power to install cycling infrastructure. Children take bikes to school to take part in bikeability training, but leave them there rather than cycling to and form school because of safety concerns, she claimed. Answering a criticism of cycle subsisidies - that they often fund expensive bike purchases for leisure rather than commuting - she said even if they weren't used for cycling to work, the bikes were "incredibly well used". "It doesn't matter if it's a mum going to work or taking her kids to school."

• Watch the video of this session here