Cycling is a healthy transport solution

A national report launched on June 4 in Canberra has for the first time placed a dollar figure on the health benefits of cycling participation. The report, Cycling: Getting Australia Moving (PDF 3.12MB), which was commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, estimates that cycling currently saves the government $227.2 million per year in health costs alone. An investment in infrastructure for cycling, and social and behavioural programs that encourage cycling, will readily lead to more Australians cycling.

Cycling: Getting Australia Moving, seeks to identify barriers to cycling and recommend strategies that a whole of government approach could use to increase levels of cycling. These recommendations are largely dependent upon each other and would need to be implemented in an integrated, co-ordinated way: They include:

Improved bicycle infrastructure: to provide safe, attractive and enjoyable on and off road bicycle routes as well as high quality end of trip facilities (for example, showers and secure bicycle parking).

Funding: to better reflect the role and value of cycling in a range of areas including transport, health and sustainability, with support from all levels of government.

Mass marketing campaigns: to promote the multiple health, environmental, transport, economic and social inclusion benefits of cycling, and address perceived barriers such as safety, required fitness level and road user behaviour. These campaigns can be supported through the extensive network of cycling organisations around Australia, and should be combined with infrastructure improvements.

Behaviour change programs such as TravelSmart, Ride to Work, and Ride to School programs: to help more Australian children and adults make the daily commute by bicycle.

Bicycle events: to encourage infrequent and novice riders to cycle in a supportive social environment.

Bicycle education programs: to increase confidence and skill levels in both the child and adult population.

Urban design: to create a physical environment more conducive to cycling, such as higher density, mixed use development and shorter trip distances.

Cycling is a carbon neutral, petrol free form of transport, simultaneously helping Australians improve their health, fight climate change and reduce fuel costs. It has come of age and should be embraced.