Sustrans’ Bike It project set to expand in London

Bike It officers work directly with schools to raise awareness of cycling, organise bike training and plan the best and safest routes to school. Participating schools across England have seen levels of cycling treble within a year- bucking the trend in declining numbers of children cycling to school.
Holly Bruford is the latest Sustrans Bike It Officer to join the team in London, with £306,650 of funding from the Big Lottery Fund. She is currently working with 11 schools across Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham and now Hackney.
Holly said: “I am really looking forward to working with three new schools in Hackney. The response so far has been brilliant, on the first ever ‘Bike to School’ day at Whitmore Primary School we got 85 cyclists, which is a tremendous achievement. I expect to be working with over 1000 children across the three schools.
“We know from our research that almost a third of children would like to cycle to school when only 1% currently do – there’s an enormous potential for increasing cycling levels in this country. It is vital that we give young people the opportunity to travel in ways, which are healthy, sustainable and fun.”
The project, aimed at 9-12 years olds, works first by raising awareness about the benefits of cycling. Next, steps are taken to enable the young people to cycle to school – this could be new cycle parking, or cycle training sessions. The third stage is all about action – organising events and incentive schemes to encourage the children to cycle more often, such as bike to school breakfasts and competitions between schools.
Bike It is a nationwide scheme, managed by Sustrans. Nationally the project is funded by Cycling England, and the cycle industry through the Bike Hub, locally Bike It is supported by the Big Lottery Fund and local councils.