Bike trains to bikes on trains: Cycling UK in Scotland

Caithness and Wick development officer George Ewing was in the news this month as he led 135 school pupils on their journey to Noss Primary School. He was joined by Maree Todd MSP who seemed to love the initiative. “…it was just wonderful and it is just the best way for these kids to get to school.” Great work, George!

At the start of the month, I attended the Cross-Party Group on Sustainable Transport which focused on the topic of children and young people, as part of a series on ‘Tackling inequalities in transport’.

As well as hearing from Sustrans on some of their upcoming work, the discussion was led by Members of Scottish Youth Parliament, David McGilp MSYP and Islay Jackson MSYP. David and Islay were exceptionally knowledgeable and spoke in detail about the challenges young people in Scotland face with regards to transport.

And the kids are alright: young people seem to be more environmentally minded and more open to transport choices other than the car than their older counterparts.

The CPG discussion pointed out the need for greater multi-modal journey integration, especially where active travel is concerned, with more young people choosing to walk, cycle and use public transport options where they can.

Jargon-free version: it should be easier to take your bike on a bus, park your bike by a train station and combine bus, cycling and walking journeys.

Improving transport options

Cycling UK’s policy manager Jim Densham and Cycle Access Fund programme manager Emily Ryder attended the Scotrail Active Travel working group to discuss that very issue. 

Thanks to funding secured last year due to Glasgow hosting the UCI Cycling World Championships, Scotrail has been in the process of auditing cycle parking facilities and improving pedestrian facilities at all stations.

The organisation has added 482 new cycle parking spaces across Scotland which is good news. Scotrail is now seeking further funding from government to make more of these essential interventions and make it easier for people to make multi-modal journeys.

On 5 October, we hosted Cycling UK’s Annual Scottish Gathering in Edinburgh for Cycling UK members and non-members alike. The day started with a successful led ride/urban safari through Edinburgh before hearing updates from Cycling UK’s team on what has been an eventful year in Scottish active travel.

We also heard from fantastic guest speakers Laura Laker, Naomi Frieriech, Ed Shoote and Iain Monk, each of whom has their own remarkable cycling journey. Laura told us about her new book ‘Potholes and Pavements’ which catalogues the trials and tribulations of setting up the National Cycle Network.

Naomi told us about the ‘trails’ and tribulations of endurance riding and included a few stark lessons about what can happen if you crash/don’t sleep/don’t sleep and crash. Ed’s lesson was less gnarly but still radical with regards to sleep – a lesson on bikepacking with kids.

And finally, Iain told us about his 20-plus-year campaign attempting to connect the village of Gullane to the local train station at Drem in East Lothian. It’s fair to say that this year’s Annual Gathering had a subconscious theme of endurance and perseverance, perfect to keep in mind as the nights draw in.

Joined-up thinking

Elsewhere, Cycling UK’s CEO Sarah Mitchell and I met with met with Sue Webber MSP shortly after she was announced as the new Transport Spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives.

We had a very productive meeting and spoke with Sue about the Scottish Conservatives’ priorities for transport, the need for high-quality cycle infrastructure and… integrated transport options.

We’re continuing to develop links and promote our work in Scotland, for example by hosting a stall at the Cycling Scotland annual conference and meeting with partners at Public Health Scotland and Transform Scotland.

As well as all of this, we’ve recently been hosting a series of amazing showcase events throughout Scotland. The last of which involved taking Cycling UK’s board and senior leadership team through a monsoon in Dunbar – mostly unscathed.

Everyone had an amazing day (until the rain stopped play) and it was clear to see the incredible value and connections that have come through our work in East Lothian.